National

'Get today done': Liberals arrive for leadership battle

Feb 13, 2026

Angus Taylor and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley — Liberal MPs will meet to decide whether Sussan Ley or Angus Taylor leads the beleaguered party. -AAP Image

Liberal MPs have made the case for change while arriving at Parliament House in Canberra as they prepare to knife their first-ever female leader after just nine months in the role.

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Conservative challenger Angus Taylor is widely expected to defeat Sussan Ley in a 9am leadership ballot, with his backers arguing a new leader is needed because of a string of dire poll results.

Arriving at parliament on Friday morning, conservative Sydney MP Simon Kennedy said the party had been talking about itself for too long.

"Australia's not going well enough for us to be talking about ourselves," he told reporters.

"We've got to get today done and then start fighting hard for the Australian people."

Andrew Wallace, who backs Sussan Ley, said she hadn't been given an opportunity to succeed but agreed the question of leadership needed to be resolved quickly.

Mr Taylor's backers believe the change in leader will help the party reset after its worst poll slump in recent memory which has seen support for the coalition eclipsed by One Nation.

But wielding the political axe will have other consequences - including changes to the makeup of the shadow ministry, and an overhaul of internal staffing.

"Let's hope I still have a job in an hour," one staffer remarked as he entered the building.

The leadership challenge was precipitated by a flurry of resignations from the front bench on Thursday, led by senior conservatives James Paterson, Jonno Duniam and Michaelia Cash.

The resignation of James McGrath, who has previously backed Ms Ley, was widely seen as the death knell for her leadership, while Dan Tehan, previously energy spokesman, quit to run as deputy leader.

Mr Taylor used an Instagram post on Thursday to make the case for replacing Ms Ley.

"Our country is in trouble. The Labor government has failed and the Liberal Party has lost its way," he said

"I'm running to be the leader of the Liberal Party because I believe Australia is worth fighting for."

Ms Ley has not spoken publicly about the impending spill, instead publishing a series of social media posts in which she offered a "better future" and that "we will ease the squeeze".

While speculation over threats to her tenure started in late 2025, Liberals began openly contemplating a leadership change after a Newspoll published in The Australian on Monday, showing the coalition slipped to a primary vote of 18 per cent.

At the same time, support for Pauline Hanson's One Nation surged to 27 per cent.