Angus Taylor has won a party vote to become the new leader of the Liberal Party.
Taylor beat previous leader Sussan Ley in a vote this morning.
The leadership spill came after a two-week Liberal-National Coalition split.
Here’s what you need to know.
Spill
On Friday morning, a Liberal Party meeting was held.
In the vote, 17 people voted for Ley to remain leader, and 34 people voted for Taylor. One person abstained from voting.
This means Taylor becomes leader, effective immediately.
Background
In January, the Nationals broke from the Liberals when voting on a bill to reform hate speech laws following the Bondi terror attack.
Unlike the Labor Party, the Coalition does not require its MPs to always vote with the party, unless they are in the Shadow Cabinet. This is known as ‘Shadow Cabinet solidarity’.
After breaking solidarity, three Nationals tendered their resignations from the Shadow Cabinet to Opposition leader Sussan Ley on 21 January.
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On 22 January, National Party leader David Littleproud announced the Coalition had split, as “under the leadership of Sussan Ley [it] is untenable and cannot continue.”
Two weeks later, on 8 February, Ley and Littleproud announced the Coalition had reformed.
On Wednesday evening, Taylor resigned from the Liberal frontbench, freeing him to launch a challenge.
On Thursday morning, multiple Liberals resigned from their positions, and a request for a spill was delivered to Ley.
Taylor then said he would challenge Ley.
Taylor
Since 2013, Taylor has been the Member for Hume, covering the outskirts of Sydney’s southwestern suburbs, including Camden, Picton and Bargo.
Taylor grew up on a farm in the NSW Snowy Mountains. He attended boarding school in Sydney, before studying at the University of Sydney, graduating with honours in Economics and Law.
Taylor was a Rhodes Scholar, achieving a Masters of Philosophy in Economics at Oxford University.
Before entering politics, Taylor worked in management consulting and agribusiness.
During his parliamentary career, Taylor has served in ministerial positions including energy and industry. Until this week, he was the Shadow Defence Minister.
After former Liberal leader Peter Dutton lost his seat at the 2025 election, Ley won the position over Taylor, 29 votes to 25.
