Angus Taylor Elected Liberal Leader in Dramatic Party Room Vote
Current and former politicians have swiftly responded to Angus Taylor's successful ousting of Sussan Ley as leader of the Liberal Party. Party members voted decisively for Taylor over Ley with a vote of 34-17 during a crucial meeting held at 9am on Monday morning.
Leadership Change After Nine Turbulent Months
The call to remove the party's first female leader came just nine months into her tenure, during which the Coalition experienced significant internal divisions and dropped behind a surging One Nation in recent polling figures. Ley's leadership was marked by two major party splits that exposed deep ideological fractures within the conservative coalition.
Taylor's new deputy leader, Senator Jane Hume, immediately praised her colleague, declaring he is "one of the greatest intellects and biggest policy brains that exists in the Liberal Party." However, this glowing assessment was quickly challenged by prominent figures from across the political spectrum.
Turnbull's Scathing Assessment of New Leader
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, whom Taylor served as minister for law enforcement and cybersecurity between 2017 and 2018, offered a strikingly different perspective. "The curious thing a lot of people say about Angus Taylor is he is the best qualified idiot they've ever met," Turnbull told the ABC during a frank interview.
Turnbull expressed serious concerns about his former party being pulled further to the political right by Pauline Hanson and One Nation, questioning whether Taylor could effectively bring the party back toward the political center. "They've got to have positive, detailed plans to promote housing affordability, they've got to have detailed plans about tax reform," Turnbull insisted. "They can't just get away with sound bites that may go down well on Sky News, because that's not real Australia, at least it's not middle Australia."
Labor's Immediate Political Response
Criticism of Taylor arrived rapidly from the Labor Party, which launched targeted political advertisements and donation drives within minutes of his victory over Ley. Treasurer Jim Chalmers took direct aim at Taylor for his performance as opposition treasurer leading up to the Liberal Party's disastrous 2025 election campaign.
"He went to the election promising higher taxes for every taxpayer as well as bigger deficits and more debt," Chalmers declared in a social media post that featured a recording of Taylor telling a journalist he would "absolutely would repeal" Labor's tax cuts if the Liberal Party had won the election.
Labor MP Tanya Plibersek also criticized the new Opposition leader's actions following the election, highlighting what she characterized as hypocrisy regarding gender representation. "Last year, Angus Taylor said the Liberals 'absolutely need more women at every level' and called for a 'crusade' to make it happen," Plibersek noted. "Fast forward to today: the party's first female leader in its history, Sussan Ley, is rolled after just 39 weeks — having been stalked and undermined by Taylor for months. Shock."
Abbott's Support and Hanson's Challenge
The first Prime Minister Taylor served under as an MP in 2013, Tony Abbott, celebrated his rise to become the 17th leader of the party. "Our party is at a low ebb but Angus is just the man to bring us back to government," Abbott stated confidently. "His declared mission to restore Australians' standard of living and protect our way of life is exactly what our country needs right now."
Abbott called for party unity, adding: "All Liberal supporters now need to rally round the leader. His success is our success and the long term success of our country. For all the Liberal Party's recent failings it remains the best hope of better government for Australia."
Immediate Leadership Challenge Emerges
Approximately one hour after being voted out as leader, Sussan Ley announced she would be stepping back from politics entirely and vacating her southern NSW seat of Farrer, triggering an immediate by-election. This development presents the first major challenge of Taylor's leadership while the Coalition trails significantly behind One Nation in the polls.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson congratulated Ley for her decades of work in politics while simultaneously announcing her party would challenge the soon-to-be-vacant seat. "One Nation will be contesting the by-election in Farrer with a strong candidate that represents regional NSW, the rural sector, and someone who understands the issues of the Murray Darling and water," Hanson declared.
Hanson positioned her party as the true representative of regional communities, stating: "Our rural communities have long been forgotten by both major parties and are suffering at the hands of Net Zero, increased power prices, a lack of housing and services, immigration, and the decimation of prime agricultural land by city centric policies."
The by-election in Farrer will serve as an early test of Taylor's leadership and the Liberal Party's ability to regroup after months of internal turmoil and declining public support.
