Liberal MPs will meet in coming days to elect a replacement for the defeated opposition leader Peter Dutton after the party’s historic drubbing in the federal election.
The deputy leader, Sussan Ley, the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, and the shadow immigration minister, Dan Tehan, are among the leading contenders for the role. The shadow defence minister, Andrew Hastie, ruled himself out of the race on Monday afternoon.
The ballot winner will have to help the Liberals rebuild after their landslide loss to Anthony Albanese. Labor’s increased majority means the Coalition could have at least two terms more in the political wilderness.
Who are the frontrunners and where would they take the Liberal party?
Sussan Ley
Ley is the longest-serving female MP left in the Coalition, having entered parliament in 2001 representing the seat of Farrer. The 63-year-old is now the most senior member of the moderate faction.
She was the minister for health, sport and aged care under Tony Abbott.
In January 2017 she resigned from Malcolm Turnbull’s frontbench after it was revealed she had used taxpayer funds to travel to New Year’s Eve events hosted by a Queensland businesswoman and party donor.
She rejoined the ministry in 2018, becoming environment minister in 2019, before taking the deputy Liberal leadership in 2022 after Scott Morrison’s loss.
Ley has by far the most interesting backstory of the frontrunners. She was born in Nigeria and grew up in the Middle East. A grandmother, she flies planes and has worked as a public servant and a shearer’s cook.
She was born “Susan” but changed her name to “Sussan” in her 20s, revealing in 2015 that the decision had been guided by numerology. Ley said she read that the move would make her life “incredibly exciting” and that “nothing would ever be boring”.
As a shadow minister under Dutton, she held the small business, industry and skills portfolios and was the shadow minister for women.
The outgoing Liberal senator and former defence minister Linda Reynolds and the retiring MP Warren Entsch have publicly supported Ley for her tilt at the leadership.
Angus Taylor
A key member of Dutton’s inner circle, the shadow treasurer and prominent conservative was elected to parliament in 2013, representing the seat of Hume.
The 58-year-old Oxford-educated Rhodes scholar worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and Co and at Port Jackson Partners. He was the energy minister under Morrison and minister for law enforcement and cybersecurity under Turnbull and has held the cities and industry portfolios.
Taylor came in for criticism during the election campaign. Privately, Liberal MPs questioned his contribution to policy development, blaming him for scant economic plans for voters.
The outgoing Liberal senator Hollie Hughes said on Monday she would not vote for Taylor, citing concerns about “his capabilities”.
Taylor grew up on a sheep and cattle property at Nimmitabel in southern New South Wales. He and his wife have four children. Taylor competes in triathlons and running events.
Dan Tehan
Tehan entered parliament in 2010, in the safe Liberal seat of Wannon in regional Victoria.
The 57-year-old belongs to the Morrison-aligned centre-right faction. He served in Morrison’s cabinet, holding the social services, education and trade portfolios.
In 2022, after the Coalition’s loss, Tehan wouldn’t rule out a run against Dutton. He went on to hold the shadow immigration portfolio.
He faced a significant challenge in his seat from Climate 200-backed Alex Dyson, who took three runs at Tehan for Wannon, getting closer each election. Tehan’s new margin in the seat looks to be 3.6%.
During the campaign, Tehan struggled to explain the opposition’s policy to dramatically cut international migration into Australia, including where cuts to the permanent and temporary intake would hit. As a shadow minister, he hasn’t cut through as much in the media as much as Ley and Taylor.
As an in-between option, party members say Tehan would have to pull votes from the moderate faction over Taylor’s hard-right supporters.
There was speculation Taylor and Tehan could stand on a joint ticket but some party members believe a senior woman needs to be included in the leadership team.
When will a decision be made?
No timing has been set for the leadership ballot. Ley said this week the party would wait for some close races to be determined, nominating the acting party whip, Melissa Price, to run the process.
