Brad Battin told to stand aside in Libs leadership bombshell

Opposition Leader Brad Battin has hit out at speculation over his future as he prepares to face a leadership challenge from Jess Wilson.

Brad Battin is set to be ousted as leader, with Jess Wilson touted to take on the top job.

Liberal MP Jess Wilson will put her hand up to take over as opposition leader on Tuesday, after Brad Battin was told he no longer held the confidence of the partyroom.

Ms Wilson was making calls on Monday night, informing MPs she would make the move at Tuesday morning’s partyroom meeting in parliament.

It comes after a group of MPs from across the party’s factions, including key Wilson backer Brad Rowswell, conservative Bev McArthur, Renee Heath and Nick McGowan, met with Mr Battin to inform him he no longer had most MPs’ support.

Ms Wilson was making calls on Monday night about her plans to challenge for the leadership. Picture: David Crosling

After the delegation visited Mr Battin, there were hours of frenzied discussions amid the expectation there would be a full leadership spill, including Mr Battin’s role and the deputy leader role held by Sam Groth, at 8.30am Tuesday.

On Monday night, some sources said Mr Battin was not expected to contest and could resign as leader. But, emerging from his office about 8pm, Mr Battin, when asked if he believed he had the support of his party, said: “I believe I do.”

Mr Battin was informed by a group of MPs he had lost his colleagues’ support. Picture: David Crosling

Asked how he was feeling about a possible spill, he said: “What spill? Are you hearing things?”

Asked further if he thought he might lose leadership of the party, he said: “That’s a ridiculous question. I’ve got nothing to say at the moment.”

Sources earlier said the delegation meeting had been calm and Mr Battin had accepted the message “quite humbly”.

It’s on. A delegation of Victorian Liberal MPs have just been to see Opposition Leader Brad Battin to say he has lost the support of his partyroom. Early indications are that Battin will push on. Could now be a matter of when he goes not if. #springstpic.twitter.com/hKLY3yeg2W

— Shannon Deery (@s_deery) November 17, 2025

It is understood Ms Wilson was not part of the meeting, with one source saying a spill “was never going to happen without this as a trigger. Jess would never get her hands dirty”.

If successful, Ms Wilson, 35, will become the third Victorian Liberal leader in 11 months, after Mr Battin and John Pesutto. 

She would also become the first woman to lead the party in the state.

The looming change comes amid increasing consternation about the Coalition’s polling since Mr Battin took over last December, when he challenged former leader Mr Pesutto on Boxing Day.

Since then the Coalition’s primary vote has fallen six points to 37 per cent while Labor has improved its vote from 30 to 32 per cent.

On a two-party-preferred basis, Labor remains in an election-winning position, despite the crime crisis, cost-of-living concerns, major project blowouts and record debt.

In recent days, anger has boiled over as the Allan government has seized the initiative on crime – the only issue Mr Battin has really focused on at the expense of other policy areas.

And there was red-hot fury over his shadow cabinet reshuffle last month. It is understood a significantly large group of former Battin loyalists have become willing to join with their factional enemies to overthrow him.

After the delegation left Mr Battin’s office, it is understood he received phone calls from more MPs telling him he had lost their support. On Monday night he was having a crisis meeting with Mr Groth and loyal supporter Richard Riordan.

It’s understood the move by Ms Wilson, who ran against Mr Battin for the leadership last year, has been encouraged by a group of MPs for several weeks. One source pointed out the delegation that approached Mr Battin on Monday was clearly a sign of the Liberal factions uniting behind her, which would mean Mr Battin could not shoot down a challenge and that he should step aside to make the transition easier.

A separate Liberal MP pointed to Mr Battin’s inability to “land a hard punch on the government in any portfolio area other than crime” as a key factor in the move. Another senior Liberal MP said the plot had been in train for “the last couple of months”.

“The reshuffle was the last straw,” they said.

“Not everyone will like Jess, but they dislike Brad more. Brad is very good at talking about crime, but nothing else.”

It’s understood the meeting with Mr Battin was kept very in-house, with the broader partyroom left in the dark until late Monday afternoon.

As part of the discussions to clinch the conservative faction’s support, it is understood Ms McArthur would likely take the position as upper house leader.

On Monday night, shadow police spokesman David Southwick was shaping as the frontrunner for the deputy leader role. Sources said it would definitely not be Mr Groth and would need to be an experienced party figure, given Ms Wilson was only elected in 2022.

Labor sources have previously flagged Ms Wilson as the one Liberal MP that Premier Jacinta Allan was most concerned about, given her strength on delivering a message on debt and the economy.

But on Monday night one senior Labor minister took a swipe at Ms Wilson, saying: “She can’t possibly keep the show together when a good third of them despise her and her moderate inner-city views.”