Sussan Ley named Liberal leader — has the party abandoned its base?
Liberal Party shifts to the left by picking Ley, flagging a move away from the conservative positions that energised their base.
Sussan Ley has been elected leader of the Liberal Party in a move that signals a shift away from the conservative platform that helped drive the success of the No campaign in the Voice to Parliament referendum.
Ley narrowly defeated Angus Taylor 29 votes to 25 in a party room ballot that took less than 15 minutes, becoming the first woman to lead the Liberal Party, a move that will likely appease moderate Liberals.
Her elevation came after a surprise twist: Senator Jacinta Price — who had defected from the Nationals just days earlier to join the Liberals and run for deputy under Taylor — dropped out of the deputy race altogether.
“I will be making comments in due course,” she said as she left the meeting, declining to say whether the switch had been worth it.
🚨#BREAKING: Australia officially has two Labor parties with no opposition pic.twitter.com/nHT19KuFSP
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) May 13, 2025
Queensland MP Ted O’Brien was elected deputy leader in a landslide, defeating fellow Queenslander Phil Thompson 38-16.
Ley, 63, said she wanted to unify the party and bring a new direction. In a video statement, she declared: “My election as leader of the Liberal Party would send a very strong signal that we understand that things must be done differently.”
DON'T MISS: 7PM Tonight AEST — Join Avi, Rukshan and Joel for a special livestream going over the latest political power plays!
That direction appears to lean away from the right-wing positions championed by Price and her supporters.
Just two days earlier, Price endorsed Taylor and announced her bid for deputy, saying, “There is no question that returning to our roots as a party is critical right now. If we want to inspire and empower Australians across our country, we must return to these roots.”
Potential Liberal Leader Sussan Ley
— Morgan C. Jonas 🇦🇺 (@morgancjonas) May 9, 2025
- Self-identified feminist
- Supports net zero
- Has never addressed late term abortion
- Supports gender quotas
- Believes there is a gender pay gap
Sussan appears much more suited to Climate 200.
I am going to make a bold prediction. This… pic.twitter.com/MzrQgO4amU
She added: “The party must stand for the ‘forgotten people’ and ‘mainstream Australians’,” recalling her grandparents “building their first home by hand with hessian bags and washing their clothes in the creek in Warners Bay, NSW.”
Despite her popularity among grassroots conservatives and backing from figures like former prime minister Tony Abbott, Price stepped aside after Taylor’s loss, leaving the leadership team to those seen as closer to the party's moderate wing.
Featured Stories
46;51
COMMENTS
-
colin nicholson commented 2025-05-14 06:39:05 -0400The liberals have not abandoned their base – Their base abandoned them! That is the way it works in a democracy. You either stick by your principles and find that not enough people agree with them, and as a result never get into power, or you chase the vote, do what it takes and gain power. It is pointless moving into one nations territory and so the libs can only move one way. The labor party cheer squad will be very pleased with your urging to maintain the right wing irrelevance. Perhaps nothing demonstrates the liberal mess than Nuclear Power. The Liberals had to propose building and owning the powerplants themselves and then made ends meet by cutting the grid size by 20% compared to labors. Most people knew this was wrong (labor’s figures on grid size are an underestimate in any case). They had to own the powerplants and back them up by restricted practices on competition. There was a place in a freemarket for nuclear …but not where lowest price bidding was the method used. Nuclear needed a constant sizeable chunk of electricity awarded to it first, and the rest then fitted in with the plans – not the reverse. Because Australia is so big and so far north, solar in particular dominates. Nuclear cannot compete with millions putting panels on their roofs and batteries in the garage. The latter is free enterprise at the edge. The former is good old state run socialism. People decided ..why take the pretend socialists when you can have the pretend capitalists
