Angus Taylor and Sussan Ley frontrunners to lead Coalition after federal election ‘bloodbath'

The Guardian

03-05-2025

Coalition MPs say Angus Taylor and Sussan Ley are frontrunners to succeed Peter Dutton as opposition leader, describing Saturday's historic election rout as a 'bloodbath' for the Liberal party.
Dutton was defeated in his Queensland seat of Dickson by Labor's Ali France, becoming the first opposition leader to lose their seat at an election since Federation. The Coalition is also on track to lose key frontbench MPs including Michael Sukkar and David Coleman, as well as outspoken Tasmanian backbencher Bridget Archer.
Congratulating the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on his 'historic' win, Dutton took responsibility for the loss and praised Taylor and Ley, the party's deputy leader.
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'It is not our night … and there are good members and candidates who have lost their seats, or their ambition and I am sorry for that,' Dutton said. 'We have an amazing party and we will rebuild.'
But Liberals warned traditional post-election blood-letting needed to include careful consideration of the party's future direction, including on key policies and its approach to prospective new voters. Others pointed to candidate quality as a challenge at successive elections.
One senior Liberal blamed the loss on poorly developed policies under Dutton and Taylor, saying voters had not been offered a proper choice on economic management.
'No economic narrative, no votes,' he told Guardian Australia.
Another Liberal speaking on the condition of anonymity said the most important struggle would be a fight for the party's 'soul' and said whoever emerged as the new leader should expect 'highly contingent support'.
One conservative MP warned Australian voters did not want hard right policies and rhetoric, blaming rightward moves since Scott Morrison's 2022 loss for Saturday's result.
Taylor, the shadow treasurer and member of party's conservative faction, has been considered a future Liberal leader but drew criticism from colleagues before the campaign started over scant policy offerings.
Taylor also struggled to defend plans to cut the federal public service by more than 40,000 people and to dramatically reduce Australia's overseas immigration intake.
Dan Tehan, the shadow immigration minister, won a hard-fought race in his Victorian seat of Wannon, defeating high-profile independent Alex Dyson.
He praised Dutton's leadership and thanked him for his service as a minister and opposition leader but was coy on whether he would contest the leadership.
Tehan called for a thorough review of the policies and campaign tactics which contributed to the Coalition's loss.
'With what has happened, you need time to consider, time to think and get an understanding of what has occurred,' he told ABC TV.
'You can't come out on the night of an election and say this is what you should have done, this is what you shouldn't have done. That is for the cold, hard light of day, then you have to analyse things and do it properly.'
Frontbencher Michaelia Cash nominated the shadow defence spokesman, Andrew Hastie, as her preferred candidate for leader.
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'Andrew's always been seen as leadership material … When you look at his background, former SAS, he is someone who comes with a great pedigree. He is someone that works, he does not take one vote for granted in that seat.'
Queensland senator James McGrath told ABC TV the Coalition must not adopt policies reminiscent of the US president, Donald Trump.
'It would be dangerous for my party, and I speak as a Ronald Reagan Republican and a George Bush Republican, speaking to Donald Trump's positions. We are a free-trade party and pro-Ukraine and we should continue to be centre-right.
'We must resist that path focus on where middle Australia is.'
The shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, said Dutton's loss was 'very sad' for the Liberal party. She has been mentioned as a possible deputy leader by moderate MPs.
Hume said she would start by rereading the review she co-authored into the 2022 election loss. She previously accused commentators of 'already reading the entrails before the chicken is gutted'.
'Peter is a very popular colleague among his colleagues … He is a very good man.'
Party sources played down reports Hume had begun consulting colleagues about who should succeed Dutton as party leader even before the defeat, insisting she was discussing the views of voters around the country ahead of election night coverage.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, appeared ready for a fight with Taylor, saying he should not escape blame for the Coalition's loss.
'I think Angus Taylor has been one of the biggest reasons why we have outperformed expectations, and I say that as his direct opponent,' he said on ABC TV.