Secret talks between Hastie and Taylor to topple Ley fail to reach decision

Talks between Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor to reach a deal on replacing Opposition Leader Sussan Ley have ended in a stalemate.

Hastie, Taylor and the other three right-wingers – senators James Paterson, Jonno Duniam and Matt O’Sullivan – at the meeting are in Melbourne for the funeral of former Liberal MP Katie Allen.

More details about the meeting are expected later on Thursday, but one source familiar with the talks gave this masthead a brief readout of the high-stakes meeting.

They said there was no outcome yet on whether Taylor, 59, or Hastie, 43, would run as the Right faction challenger for the Liberal leadership.

The source said more talks would be needed between the pair, who are friends despite the recent friction over who should challenge for the leadership.

A source close to Hastie said they believed the matter was moving in the West Australian MP’s direction as they push for Taylor to concede to his younger colleague.

The Right faction will need to unite around one candidate to have any chance of toppling Ley, who was backed by Moderates and unaligned MPs when she became Liberal leader in May, a week after the Coalition’s crushing election defeat.

Most right-wingers believe Ley’s leadership is doomed. Taylor has been urging calm to colleagues, questioning the wisdom of a swift spill that is not handled maturely, while Hastie’s backers firmly believe he has more support than Taylor.

The split among Ley’s opponents has buoyed the confidence of the opposition leader’s camp, but continued dire polling, showing One Nation competitive with the Coalition, has many MPs yearning for an urgent overhaul of the party’s policy agenda and public messaging.

The fact that Duniam and Paterson, both members of Ley’s leadership group, attended a discussion on a right-wing challenge bodes poorly for Ley. Duniam and Paterson are loyal foot soldiers for Ley but can likely see the writing on the wall.

More to come.

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