Julie Bishop ends 11 years as deputy Liberal leader

SHE was the widely admired deputy to three Liberal leaders for more than a decade, but after a failed tilt for the PM’s job her future is under a cloud. What next for Julie Bishop?

FOR 11 years Julie Bishop was the second in command of the Liberal Party, comfortably filling the role of deputy.

On Friday, she lost her bid for the leadership along with the role she had made her own for more than a decade.

But after all this time, the West Australian lawyer with the killer stare and snappy suits reportedly told colleagues she would not serve as “another man’s deputy”.

LIBERAL LOYALTY

Ms Bishop served as deputy under three leaders, watching from close proximity as each copped the knife. Not one to step on an outgoing leader’s shoes, she had never previously put her hand up for a leadership bid of her own.

Liberal elder statesman Jeff Kennett believed Ms Bishop had the best chance of helping the party win upcoming state elections in Victoria and NSW.

“If I was putting my hat on, I would ensure that Julie Bishop was elected prime minister and Scott Morrison was deputy and retain the treasury for consistency’s sake,” Mr Kennett told Melbourne radio station 3AW. Instead Scott Morrison won the party vote against Peter Dutton and Josh Frydenberg was named deputy.

Then-Minister for Ageing Julie Bishop and Health Minister Tony Abbott during Question Time in the House of Representatives, 2003. Picture: AAP

Originally published as Julie Bishop ends 11 years as deputy Liberal leader