Andrew Hastie has decided to withdraw from the Liberal leadership contest, citing insufficient backing from fellow party members.

This announcement follows closely after a meeting with influential figures, including his conservative competitor Angus Taylor, at the residence of Senator James Paterson in Melbourne.

The 43-year-old Hastie officially declared his retreat from the leadership bid in a statement on Friday afternoon.

Hastie acknowledged recent talks about the Liberal Party’s future leadership, stating, “Over the past few weeks, there has been speculation regarding the leadership direction of the Liberal Party of Australia.”

He continued, “I have expressed my willingness to lead both my party and our nation as the head of the Liberal Party.”

However, Hastie admitted, “After engaging with colleagues and considering their candid feedback, it’s evident that I lack the necessary support to assume the leadership of the Liberal Party.”

‘On this basis, I wish to make it clear I will not be contesting the leadership of the Liberal Party.

‘Australia faces massive issues. I have made it my single focus to campaign on critical issues including immigration and energy and I have no intention of stopping that.

Senior Liberal MP Andrew Hastie (pictured) has pulled out of the Liberal leadership race

Hastie took a shot at Anthony Albanese, claiming the Prime Minister is leading Australia into a ‘national decline’ after compromising security and economic prosperity.

‘That compromise and failure of our Prime Minister is having a real impact on families right across Australia,’ he said.

‘I believe that those families and our country are best served by a strong Coalition government, and I will work every day to make my party the very best version of itself.’

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s rivals, Hastie and Angus Taylor held a secret breakfast meeting on Thursday morning, held in Melbourne hours before a colleague’s funeral.

The pair met to discuss the future of the Liberal leadership at the newly purchased $2.5million home of Ley loyalist, Senator James Paterson. 

It is not clear if Paterson was acting as peacemaker, powerbroker or kingmaker with his presence. 

He told ABC Radio National on Thursday: ‘You can assume that I continue to support Sussan’.

The breakfast summit added fresh fuel to speculation about an imminent Liberal leadership showdown and came just hours before the memorial service for former MP Dr Katie Allen.

Hastie and Liberal MP Angus Taylor had met on Thursday to discuss the future of their party’s leadership, with rumours swirling around a possible contest against Sussan Ley 

Ley flew to Melbourne with a cluster of senior allies on Thursday to farewell Dr Allen, a paediatrician and Higgins MP, who died last month after she was diagnosed with a rare cancer.

Before the service, The Australian newspaper captured photos of Hastie, a former SAS captain and WA MP, arriving at Paterson’s home accompanied by Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonathon Duniam and WA Senator Matt O’Sullivan.

Taylor, the defence spokesman and former energy minister, arrived alone around 40 minutes later. 

With Hastie pulling out of a potential leadership race on Friday, attention turns to whether Taylor could gather support to contest Ley’s position. 

The state of play in the Liberal Party

Conservatives have previously been firmly in Camp Hastie, but several moderates insist they ‘won’t touch him’.

Taylor supporters had said those floating votes were theirs for the taking. 

Hastie’s biggest handicap was said to be his record on Baby Priya’s Law.

Many Liberals remain uneasy about his past criticism of the legislation which guarantees paid parental leave for parents of stillborn or deceased infants.

Senator Jane Hume – a key voice in the leadership debate – was especially scathing, publicly expressing her horror that colleagues like Hastie had politicised the issue.

Angus Taylor (pictured) is pitching himself as a more ‘traditional’ conservative leader

There was also growing anxiety that elevating Hastie would hand Labor a ready‑made culture‑war attack line, a re‑run of the abortion scare campaign deployed against David Crisafulli and Queensland’s LNP in 2024. 

Despite her moderate pedigree, Hume hasn’t ruled out backing an alternative to Ley.

Speaking to Sky News on Thursday, she said that while she supported Ley’s handling of the Bondi Beach terror attack, the Opposition Leader had ‘failed to cut through’ and turn it into meaningful voter support.

Moderate figures remain largely behind Ley, believing she may avoid a challenge altogether if her opponents continue to fight over who should run.

While they concede the party’s polling has slipped under her leadership, they argue that another round of instability would only accelerate the slide toward irrelevance.

However Ley’s critics argue the party’s position is so dire, any change would be better than the status quo.

Skeptics caution that Taylor may not be the saviour some imagine, and dumping the first woman to lead the Liberal Party could spark a backlash far worse than the current internal unrest.

Taylor’s critics have also said he may not ‘stick the landing’ if he takes the leadership, and could further erode female support for the party.

But his backers are from the party’s traditional conservative wing, including NSW Senator Jess Collins and Cook MP Simon Kennedy – seen as Howard-era conservatives, in contrast to Hastie’s populist style, which Taylor’s camp has argued can also appeal to moderates.