Peter Dutton faces internal pressure to freshen the party and shift gears on policy or face questions about his leadership, after the Liberal Party’s historic and crushing loss at the Aston byelection on Saturday.

As crestfallen Liberals raked through the ashes of the first loss of an Opposition seat to a government in a federal byelection since 1920, Mr Dutton accepted responsibility for the result but showed little sign of changing tack.