National

Liberals 'stuck in the past' as party hits new poll low

Jun 29, 2026

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor (file image) — The Liberals are searching for ways to win back voters as the party slumps in opinion polling. -AAP Image

The Liberal Party is being urged to completely rebrand to arrest declining poll numbers, but replacing its leader is not on the cards.

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The latest Newspoll revealed the coalition have plunged to a historic low of a 17 per cent primary vote

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor's approval ratings has also slumped to minus 20, with 31 per cent of voters approving and 51 per cent disapproving.

Coalition frontbencher Melissa McIntosh said the poll results were not great, suggesting the Liberals needed to look at where the party wanted to go in the future.

"It's time for the Liberal Party to rebrand itself. Some people think that we're stuck in the past and our policies need to resonate with the Australia of today and the future," she told Sky News on Monday.

"We're not tracking in the polls, so it doesn't mean that you change your foundations, but you certainly might be time for us to re-look at how we express ourselves externally, and that takes a lot of work inside the party to go back to our roots"

She said the party's messaging needed to be examined because the "diabolical" polls could not be ignored.

Talk of replacing Mr Taylor was not being considered, just four months after he took over from Sussan Ley.

Mr Taylor said the party had to "change or die" upon taking the leadership, but the Liberal vote has gone backwards as One Nation rises in support.

"We can't put the blame on Angus. I think the Liberal Party itself needs to go through a rebrand," Ms McIntosh said.

"We've got some decent policies coming out. Angus is working super hard to get the party on track to be releasing our policies earlier, and we're all committed to do that."

The opposition leader conceded any reversal to the party's position in the polls would take time.

"People need to rebuild trust in their coalition, in a Liberal Party, in a National Party that has breached trust," he told Sydney radio station 2GB.

"We've lost trust over an extended period of time, both during COVID and since then ... the bust-ups of the coalition in the last year is an example of that."

Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume also stood by Mr Taylor, saying he should remain in the role until the next election.

"Angus Taylor has prosecuted against this terrible Labor budget exceptionally well. He really has led the charge in that debate, even if others potentially have got some of the credit," she told ABC Radio.