Support builds for Angus Taylor after launching Liberal party leadership challenge against Sussan Ley | Liberal party

Sussan Ley’s embattled leadership suffered a major blow; his key supporter and Queensland senator James McGrath resigned from the front bench to support Angus Taylor.

Taylor’s supporters are increasingly confident that the former shadow defense minister will win the Liberal leadership election in Parliament House at 9am on Friday.

McGrath’s move to resign was followed by opposition Senate leader and foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash, who shifted her support to Taylor.

After resigning from the shadow cabinet on Wednesday night, Taylor confirmed plans to challenge Ley in a social media video posted on Thursday morning amid a wave of resignations from the shadow cabinet.

“The Labor government has failed and the Liberal party has lost its way,” he said.

“I’m running to be leader of the Liberal party because I believe Australia is worth fighting for. I believe we need strong and determined leadership that gives Australians the clarity, courage and confidence to provide a vision for the future.”

“I am committed to the cause of rebuilding our party so it can be the party Australians expect and deserve, because we are running out of time and Australia is worth fighting for.”

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The video was released after two of Taylor’s allies, Jess Collins and Phil Thompson, handed Ley a letter on Thursday morning demanding a motion to dissolve the leadership.

Senior Conservatives Jonno Duniam and James Paterson resigned at around 10am, joining fellow prominent figures Matt O’Sullivan and Claire Chandler in a coordinated move designed to put pressure on Ley.

McGrath, a former party strategist and power broker, resigned around 3 p.m. His vote could be decisive in a vote that is expected to result in a narrow margin.

“We must take the fight to Labor and I have made this decision with that at the forefront,” McGrath said in a statement.

“On net zero, immigration, violent Islamic extremism, the cost of living or keeping Australians safe, Labor and Anthony Albanese have failed.”

Thompson noted that the voting for his resolution was weak.

“We found that people were pretty upset. We’re driven by change, and nine months is enough time to turn this around, and it hasn’t happened.”

Under party conventions, two or more Liberal MPs can request a special party room meeting to vote on the leadership leak.

If the majority of MPs support the motion, the leader will be determined by secret ballot.

Ley has not spoken publicly about the challenge but attended question time and spoke about the government’s Closing the Gap agenda in parliament. He posted a series of positive messages on social media promising a “better future” for the country.

After days of speculation, Taylor resigned from the shadow cabinet late Wednesday night to mount a challenge to the party’s first female leader.

“I do not believe that Susan Ley is in a position to run the party the way it should be run,” he told an evening press conference.

“What we need now is strong leadership, clear direction and a bold focus on our values, and the top two priorities are to preserve our way of life and restore our standard of living.”

Moderate Ley won the leadership after the 2025 election by defeating conservative Taylor by 29 votes to 25.

While both parties are confident their candidates have majority support in the 51-member party chamber, both acknowledge the numbers are tight.

Ley and Taylor’s allies came out Thursday morning to voice their support for their preferred leader.

Shadow attorney general Andrew Wallace was confident Ley would survive if a challenge took place.

“I think this, this leadership challenge, if it happens, is undercooked,” he said.

“I think she was unprepared or ill-prepared. I think Sussan has the numbers. I think the majority of the party room believes Sussan wasn’t given a fair chance.”

Jockeying for the Liberal deputy leader is also ongoing.

Incumbent Ted O’Brien will face a tough challenge if Ley is removed, with Victorian Jane Hume emerging as a possible frontrunner for the job under Taylor. O’Brien was talking to colleagues on Thursday morning.

Other possible contenders include Flinders MP Zoe McKenzie and front-runners Dan Tehan and Melissa McIntosh, but neither have resigned their positions to join the race so far.

Goldstein MP Tim Wilson is also under discussion.

But there is a view among many Liberals that Taylor should have a female MP.

Gender diversity would help the Liberals avoid the perception that “two men have ousted Sussan Ley and taken over the party again,” one of the sources said.

Another source was blunt about O’Brien’s stance, telling Guardian Australia there was “no desire to keep Ted”.