Is the Liberal Party Doomed to Repeat the Fate of its Predecessor?

Nearly 80 years on, the familiar problems that crippled the UAP now grip the Liberal Party of Australia.

Liberal Senators Jessica Collins, Sarah Henderson (C), Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (R), Shadow Minister for Defence Angus Taylor, Liberal Member for Canning Andrew Hastie and other members and senators arrive as a group for a Liberal Part room meeting at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Nov. 12, 2025. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Captured by the elites, career politicians, and unsure of its own messaging—these are the charges often levelled at the Liberal Party, and ironically, they echo the same decay that prompted its founder Robert Menzies to dismantle the UAP over 80 years ago.

The future of the legacy centre-right party has lingered for years now as it struggles to marry its moderate and conservative factions, leaving it unable to take clear positions on immigration, net zero, and against radical progressivism.