Liberal leadership contenders Susan Ley and Angus Taylor both carry baggage of horror election result

The only thing certain is whoever replaces Peter Dutton is not going to have the same compliant backbench or shadow cabinet for the next three, writes Clare Armstrong.

ANALYSIS: The battle to become the next Liberal leader is getting desperate with one side accused of using the promise of promotions to gain favour and the other seen as forcing MPs to choose their membership base over concerns about the party’s broader direction.

After days of privately canvassing colleagues directly and through proxies, deputy leader Sussan Ley and treasury spokesman Angus Taylor have now both publicly declared their intention to challenge for their party’s leadership next Tuesday.

Ms Ley’s supporters have strenuously denied MPs are being offered potential key roles in exchange for their support, but several inside the party say these conversations are “happening” albeit in a “roundabout way”.

Angus Taylor is in the running to become the next Liberal leader. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Sussan Ley has also publicly declared her intention to challenge for the party’s leadership. Picture: Jonathan Ng

While in the 24-hours since Mr Taylor helped orchestrate the shock defection of Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from the Nationals to the Liberal party room, several MPs and Senators feel they’re being “railroaded” into backing the conservative ticket to avoid retribution from their preselectors.

Both camps currently believe the count is close and will come down to decision made in the room, but there remains plenty of time before then for the scales to tip in one person’s favour.

Momentum is critical, and for Mr Taylor this is where the machinations around Ms Price really come into play.

Aside from now being a handy extra vote for the conservatives in the party room, Ms Price is beloved by right-leaning Liberal members – who according to multiple MPs on Friday have made it “well-known” just how much they want to see her in a leadership position.

As one MP explained, if you’re a senator facing a preselection in the next couple of years, “you don’t want to be fronting up to membership trying to justify why you voted against Jacinta”.

Peter Dutton bowed out as Liberal leader following his election loss. Picture: Richard Dobson / NewsWire

The thinking goes if the “undecideds” start to break for Mr Taylor, more of the so-called “unenthusiastic” supporters of Ms Ley may also switch late in an attempt to back the winning side.

Mr Taylor’s pitch to those uneasy about Ms Price’s elevation is that it’s only after securing the right that the party can shift to the centre.

But backers of Ms Ley say consolidating power among the conservatives would doom the party to more electoral defeats.

They point to how over-weighting the referendum results lead to the Liberals’ internal polling produced by Freshwater being so far off base.

One MP says it was “simply wrong” to assume Labor voters who said “no” to the Voice would be more inclined to come across to the Coalition in a general election.

Both leadership contenders are making similar promises about listening, returning to the party’s core values and focusing on the economy, yet they each also carry the baggage of last Saturday’s horror result.

After three years of prioritising unity above all else and following Peter Dutton into electoral disaster, the only thing certain is whoever replaces him is not going to have the same compliant backbench or shadow cabinet for the next three.

Originally published as Liberal leadership contenders Susan Ley and Angus Taylor both carry baggage of horror election result