Peter Dutton loses seat: Angus Taylor, Dan Tehan, Sussan Ley in line for Liberal leadership

Angus Taylor, Sussan Ley and Dan Tehan have all been floated as potentials for the Liberal Party leadership after Peter Dutton lost his seat. Here’s the latest.

A regional MP could be Australia’s next opposition leader, with several of those considered possible contenders for the Liberal leadership representing rural electorates.

Peter Dutton is set to become the first Opposition leader to lose their own electorate with Labor candidate Ali France poised to win his Brisbane constituency of Dickson.

“Tonight’s not the night we wanted for the Liberal Party, for the Coalition or for this country,” Mr Dutton told supporters in Brisbane during his concession speech.

The shock loss means the Liberals will have to meet in coming weeks to elect a new leader to lead them out of the wilderness after its 2025 drubbing.

Liberal frontbenchers Angus Taylor, Sussan Ley, Dan Tehan - representing the rural seats of Hume, Farrer and Wannon respectively - have all previously been floated as future leaders. WA MP Andrew Hastie is also considered a contender.

If one of the three regional MPs ascend to the Liberal leadership, it will be the first time a rural representative has led a major party since Malcolm Fraser lost the 1983 election.

Asked whether he would stand for the leadership, Mr Tehan said his sole focus had been the tight contest to retain his Wannon electorate against independent challenger Alex Dyson.

“I haven’t had any time to think about the future because I have been calling the wonderful volunteers and supporters, over 1700 of them here in Wannon who helped support me,” Mr Tehan told the ABC.

“I’m going to be thinking about what has happened here, I’m going to be thinking about what has happened right across the country. But at the moment, I have to say, my thoughts are with my colleagues who have lost their seat. If it is confirmed that Peter Dutton has lost his seat, that means it’s an extremely difficult night for us tonight.”

Peter Dutton with Sussan Ley and Dan Tehan in Melton for a pre-election rally. Picture: Richard Dobson

Mr Taylor is yet to address his leadership prospects, having comfortably retained his NSW electorate on Saturday night.

The Coalition’s treasury spokesman addressed the Rural Press Club of Victoria a fortnight ago, raising concerns about the impact of US tariffs on Australian beef farmers.

“We’re not going to retaliate with tariffs. I think a tariff war is the worst possible way to try to get open trade,” the Liberal MP said.

“We’ve seen retaliation particularly between the US and China, which should worry us – because that will impact global growth.

The Weekly Times has sought comment from Ms Ley.

Originally published as Peter Dutton loses seat: Angus Taylor, Dan Tehan, Sussan Ley in line for Liberal leadership