Senior Liberal frontbencher Angus Taylor has rejected suggestions he is preparing a leadership challenge against Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, insisting there is “no plan” for a spill.
For weeks there has been speculation of Taylor potentially moving against Ley, particularly after footage showed senior right faction members, Andrew Hastie and Jonathan Duniam meeting in Melbourne.
Yet on Feb. 6, Taylor conceded that “there is no plan,” on Sydney radio station 2GB.
The MP acknowledged he had been speaking with colleagues about the party’s direction, but said that did not amount to organising a coup.
“If I had a plan to remove Sussan as leader or put my hand up for the leadership, I would be telling Sussan Ley about that first. [I] wouldn’t be saying anything about it on this radio station,” he said.
The leadership talk has intensified since the Coalition’s split, as Ley works to stabilise the Liberals’ position in parliament while also trying to repair relations with their former Coalition partner the National Party.
Ley, however, has publicly dismissed the renewed chatter as a media-driven.
“These are ridiculous suggestions,” she said. “They’re made by people in the media. They are not the conversations I’m having with colleagues, and they’re not the focus of my team.”
When asked whether she had spoken with Taylor in recent days, Ley said their discussions had centred on economic issues.
“Angus is part of my leadership group, part of my shadow cabinet,” she said.
“We’ve had ongoing discussions about interest rates, about the circumstances Australians face, and about many other things pertinent to the work we are doing here as the opposition.”
Earlier this month, Deputy Liberal Leader Ted O’Brien publicly urged Taylor to back Ley or step down from the shadow ministry.
Appearing on ABC’s Insiders program on Feb. 1, O’Brien declined to say whether he had raised the leadership issue directly with Taylor, but said he believed most of the party room continued to support Ley.
