James O’Doherty: NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman quits after colleagues accused of ‘cowardice’

Mark Speakman has finally made the right call and stepped down as Liberal leader ... but the real loser will be his successor, writes State Political Editor James O’Doherty.

Mark Speakman is resigning as NSW Liberal leader, and Kellie Sloane (right) will step into his spot. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

It was the long-running soap opera that turned into a farce.

And Mark Speakman’s colleagues only have themselves to blame. They wanted to give their leader the respect they thought he deserved.

In the end, Liberal MPs only sat on the sidelines watching on while their party slowly suffered.

For months and months Speakman’s critics have complained that things needed to change at the top.

The only problem was that no one told the man in charge.

Mark Speakman walking into this afternoon’s press conference to announce his resignation as Liberal leader. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

Even on Wednesday, when things looked terminal for Speakman, his Praetorian Guard failed to tell him what they should have done months ago.

The only thing that delayed Speakman’s execution was that the presumptive successor Kellie Sloane didn’t want to pull the trigger. Neither did any of her supporters.

She was forced to wield the knife on Thursday, because those that wanted Speakman gone did not have the guts.

In the words of one Liberal, it was “blind loyalty and a bit of cowardice from the moderates” to blame.

Speakman’s defiance on Thursday in the face of the inevitable showed gall, but was typical for a leader who, when backed into a corner, too often failed to make the right political call.

Member for Vaucluse Kellie Sloane is about to become the new NSW Opposition Leader. Picture Thomas Lisson

He was given plenty of opportunity to show he could change.

He squibbed it every time.

He should have seen the writing on the wall when a bombshell poll – by DemosAU and the Liberal-aligned Premier National – predicted the Coalition losing 10 seats to Labor.

Instead of a mea culpa, Speakman laid blame on his colleagues, saying everyone in his team needed to “work harder”.

Even after he was finally told he had lost the support of the party room – months after everyone knew it – Speakman was blaming “white noise” for not being able to get his message across.

On Thursday, Speakman finally made the right call and stemmed the bleeding, but the real loser will be his successor.

Thanks to months of whispers but no action from her colleagues, Kellie Sloane has ended up looking like a troublemaker, even though it was her colleagues that were the ones causing havoc.

Her introduction to the people of NSW will come not with a bang but a whimper.