Angus Taylor set to problem Sussan Ley for Liberal management function this week

The Liberal Party is bracing for a leadership showdown this week, with allies of shadow defence minister Angus Taylor preparing to launch a spill against Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.

The timing of the move remains fluid, with key senators tied up in estimates hearings, but party sources say a challenge could be triggered at any point from Tuesday through to Friday.

Insiders say the push to unseat Ley is being orchestrated by shadow finance minister James Paterson, positioning Taylor for a tilt at the leadership.

It comes after Paterson was photographed with Taylor and Canning MP Andrew Hastie, who has bowed out of the leadership race after failing to rally enough support from his colleagues.

Ley insisted her leadership was safe on Monday after reuniting the Coalition after a 17-day split with the Nationals.

‘My team elected me and I lead a team with determination and focus. I’m up for the job,’ she told Sky News.

Moderate figures remain largely behind Ley despite the party’s polling slipping under her leadership, and argue 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.

On Friday, Taylor has acknowledged his leadership ambitions but claimed he had no plan to depose Ms Ley.  

‘I’m not going to say to you and your listeners that I don’t have and haven’t had leadership ambitions. I clearly have had,’ he told 2GB.

‘That’s why I ran for the leadership last time… Ambition is a good thing. 

‘But most of all, what we all want is a better Liberal Party and a better Coalition. We need that fast.’

Some moderate MPs believe Ley should be given more time, potentially even a budget reply speech, to see whether she can stabilise the party.

Senior shadow ministers Tim Wilson, Andrew Wallace and Alex Hawke have expressed support for Ley.

However Liberal Senator Jane Hume publicly questioned Ley’s leadership on Monday, saying the Liberal Party had been led astray.

‘This is disastrous for the Liberal Party. It’s disastrous for the Coalition. Unless something changes, we will be wiped out,’ Ms Hume told Sky News.

‘I’ve been looking at the numbers … and I don’t think that at this point there will be a single member of the House of Representatives from Victoria.

‘There won’t be a single member of the House of Representatives from New South Wales. Something has to give.’

Monday’s Newspoll shows the Opposition is struggling on its right flank, as support for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation continues to surge, threatening the major party status of the Liberal Party.

The latest Newspoll has the Coalition’s primary vote sinking to a record low of just 18 per cent.

Meanwhile. One Nation’s primary vote, which hit a record high of 22 per cent last month, is now at 27 per cent, a full nine points above the combined vote of the Liberal and Nationals parties.

The Daily Mail contacted a number of Liberal and Nationals MPs for comment in the wake of the disastrous opinion poll but none were prepared to go on the record with their scathing comments.

The MPs the Daily Mail Australia spoke to unanimously agreed Ley’s leadership is finished. 

‘Sussan needs to go now, things can’t get any worse under someone else’, one Liberal MP claims.

‘I really don’t care who it is anymore, as long as it’s not her. That’s the circuit breaker we need.’

Another moderate Liberal MP disagrees: ‘Sussan needs to step down willingly, but she’s not there yet and certainly not for Angus.’ 

‘Angus isn’t the answer, we need a fresh start’ a third Liberal MP tells Daily Mail.