Angus Taylor has stepped down from the Liberal frontbench, signaling a potential leadership challenge against current leader Sussan Ley.

For five hours, members of the press waited outside Taylor’s office until he finally made his way to Ley’s office just after 7 PM.

After spending only a few minutes inside, Taylor announced to journalists that he had resigned, citing a lack of confidence in Ley’s leadership.

“I don’t believe Sussan Ley is equipped to lead the party in the manner it requires,” Taylor told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

He expressed that while he had tried to be a “constructive member” of Ley’s team, the party desperately needs “strong leadership” to recover from its significant defeat in the May 2025 election.

“This necessitates strong leadership, a clear direction, and an unwavering focus on our core values as the primary priority,” he stated.

Taylor is expected to challenge Ley for the leadership role, following weeks of speculation about the party’s future. It remains unclear whether more resignations from the frontbench will follow.

The Opposition leader’s critics have been advocating for change, following a series of dire poll results.

Ley, who has been in the top job for less than 12 months, has spent most of her tenure surrounded by rumours of a spill, but they reached fever pitch after a second break-up with the Nationals in late January. The parties reunited on the weekend.

Last May, Ley beat Taylor narrowly — 29 to 25 — when the party room voted on who would replace Peter Dutton as Liberal Party leader following the Coalition’s heavy federal election defeat.

However, the retirement of two senators and the removal of Gisele Kapterian from the party room after she lost a recount in Bradfield means, in reality, the numbers are even tighter.

Taylor has long been the frontrunner due to his factional position in the party’s right, a prospect strengthened when Andrew Hastie ruled himself out.

The persistent rumours prompted Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg, a key Ley ally, to bait Taylor’s supporters to prove they have the numbers with a list or “move on”.

“If people want to do these things, they should put their names to it,” Bragg told ABC News earlier on Wednesday.

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