Taylor Plans Shadow Cabinet Exit to Challenge Ley

Supporters of Liberal MP Angus Taylor are intensifying efforts to oust Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, with plans underway for Taylor to resign from the shadow cabinet as early as Wednesday, potentially triggering a leadership spill in Canberra this week.

Sources close to the discussions indicate that Taylor, the shadow defence spokesman and a prominent conservative, would step down to free himself from party discipline and rally colleagues. Two of his allies are expected to request a special party room meeting for Friday, the last day of the current parliamentary sitting before a three-week recess. The move follows weeks of speculation fueled by dismal polling for the Liberal Party, which has seen its primary vote slump to 15 percent in the latest Newspoll, trailing Labor at 33 percent and One Nation at 27 percent. The Coalition's combined primary vote stands at 18 percent, marking a historic low.

The push comes amid deepening factional divides within the 51-member Liberal party room. Taylor's backers, including some from the moderate wing, aim to demonstrate widespread discontent by coordinating resignations from shadow ministerial and whip positions. Influential right-wing MP...