2026 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill

Australian political party election

The 2026 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill is an leadership election for the Liberal Party of Australia expected to be held on 13 February 2026. The spill was precipitated by the resignation of Shadow Minister for Defence Angus Taylor from the shadow cabinet on 11 February 2026, following his declaration that incumbent leader Sussan Ley was no longer “in a position to lead the party as it needs to be led.”^[2] Following this, the spill motion was launched by Jess Collins and Phillip Thompson^[3] Taylor announced his candidacy for the leadership on the morning of 12 February.

Ley, the first woman to lead the Liberal Party, has served as Leader of the Opposition since her election in May 2025.

Since the election, the Coalitions primary vote has dropped to 18%, below One Nation (at 28%).^[4] The poor performance of the Coalition in polls combined with the Coalition splits, and tensions between the Moderates and National Right factions, particularly on policy regarding immigration and climate change. ^[5]

As Dutton lost his seat, Ley was appointed as the acting leader of the Liberal Party, until a leadership election could be held. ^[6]

The leadership was contested by Ley and Angus Taylor, which had a close margin, with Ley emerging as the leader of the Liberal Party, and Leader of the Opposition with 29 votes compared to Taylor’s 25.^[7]

On 3 October 2025, Andrew Hastie resigned from his position as Shadow Minister for Home Affairs. In a statement, Hastie cited a disagreement regarding the Coalition’s immigration strategy and stated that leader Sussan Ley deserved to lead “unencumbered by interventions from Shadow Cabinet colleagues.”^[8]

Following a period of leadership speculation in early 2026, Hastie and Shadow Minister for Defence Angus Taylor met privately in Melbourne on 28 January 2026. The meeting took place against the backdrop of the memorial service for former Liberal MP Katie Allen, which both attended the following day at St Paul’s Cathedral.^[9][10] Two days later, on 30 January, Hastie issued a statement ruling himself out of a potential leadership contest, conceding that he did not have the necessary support to become leader.^[11]

In response to the mounting pressure, Sussan Ley adopted a strategy similar to that used by Malcolm Turnbull during the 2018 leadership crisis. Ley declared that she would not voluntarily call a party room meeting for a spill unless presented with a formal petition signed by a majority of the federal parliamentary party. By demanding that challengers “write their names” on a physical document, Ley aimed to force internal critics to publicly declare their opposition.^[12]

On 11 February 2026, Angus Taylor resigned from the shadow frontbench. In a press conference outside Parliament House, Taylor announced his intention to challenge for the leadership, stating, “I don’t believe Sussan Ley is in a position to be able to lead the party as it needs to be led.”^[13] His resignation triggered the spill motion scheduled for 13 February.

The first Coalition split occurred on 20 May 2025, following the landslide defeat of the Coalition. It occurred as David Littleproud, the Leader of the National Party of Australia had policy disagreements with Ley, particularly on nuclear power, the Regional Australia Future fund, and giving divestiture powers to supermarkets.^[14]

Littleproud argued that because the Nationals had largely maintained their seat count while the Liberals suffered heavy losses, the junior partner had a mandate to shape Coalition policy. Ley refused to commit to the demands without a formal review, leading the Nationals to sit separately on the crossbench.^[15] The parties reunited on 27 May 2025 after a compromise deal was reached.

This split lasted around 8 days until a new coalition agreement was formed.

The second split happened in January 2026, after Nationals frontbenchers Bridget McKenzie, Susan McDonald, and Ross Cadell crossed the floor to vote against the Hate Speech laws following the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting, contrary to the Coalitions official position. As a response, Ley accepted the resignations of these frontbenchers, which led to Littleproud leaving the Coalition agreement “in solidarity with his frontbenchers”. The Coalition reformed on the February 8 following the failed leadership spill motion in the National Party room on February 2. ^[16][17] This split lasted for 18 days after both parties signed a new “solidarity agreement” to codify that the joint party room has priority over individual party room decisions.^[18]