Libspill: Ley Faces Liberal Spill As Angus Taylor Challenges For Leadership

The federal Liberal Party has descended into fresh instability after a wave of shadow cabinet resignations triggered a formal leadership spill, with senior figures from New South Wales at the centre of the escalating contest.

Sussan Ley, the Opposition Leader and Member for Farrer in NSW, is facing a challenge from Angus Taylor, the federal Member for Hume in NSW, who resigned from his role in the shadow cabinet to mount a leadership bid.

Taylor confirmed he would stand via a post on social media, saying he was offering the party “clarity, courage and confidence”.

The spill was set in motion after Liberal MPs handed in their resignations en masse this morning.

Phillip Thompson, the federal Member for Herbert in Queensland and former Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence and the NDIS, resigned from the shadow ministry and publicly backed Taylor.

“We have been in a death spiral and we need to get out of it. Angus Taylor has the ability to do that,” Thompson told media this morning. “However, if we want to be a credible opposition and we want to win the next election, we need a new leader to do that.”

In NSW, Senator Jess Collins, who serves as Opposition Deputy Whip in the Senate, was among those involved in delivering the letter calling for a leadership ballot.

Claire Chandler, a Senator for Tasmania and former Shadow Minister for Science and Cybersecurity, also resigned from the frontbench. Chandler’s move was seen as an early sign that support for a spill extended beyond the party’s conservative faction.

Victorian Senator James Paterson, who is a key member of Sussan Ley’s leadership team, and Senator Jonno Duniam, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, have also resigned.

Liberal senator Sarah Henderson, who has been a vocal critic of Ley, told ABC News Breakfast the party had been going in the wrong direction.

“We need a credible set of policies, we need to show that we can fight for the Australian people, hold this terrible government to account every single day and that’s why I am hoping that Angus Taylor will be our leader in the next couple of days,” Henderson said.

“It is very difficult time for the Liberal Party. This is not easy to change leader but at a primary vote of 18 per cent, would wipe out most members in the House of Representatives,” she says.

Senator Henderson added she would back Victorian Senator Jane Hume — who has sat on the back bench since being dumped from shadow cabinet in May — as deputy leader.

Ley has not yet addressed the spill, apart from a social media post on X, featuring a smiling photo of herself and a caption which promises to “take the pressure off families, fix the budget, and keep Australia safe.”

We will take the pressure off families, fix the budget, and keep Australia safe. pic.twitter.com/I9wbjbfSPd

— Sussan Ley (@sussanley) February 11, 2026

A party room meeting to determine the leadership is expected in coming days, with both camps lobbying intensively behind closed doors.