Liberals Wait on Hastie-Taylor Before Moving on Ley

The Liberal Party is holding off on a leadership spill against Sussan Ley as senior figures wait for rivals Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor to decide who will run.

Multiple Liberal sources say Ms Ley's leadership is now widely viewed as untenable following the Nationals' decision to quit her frontbench and leave the Coalition, but the party's right faction is reluctant to trigger a spill without first uniting behind a single challenger.

Supporters of Mr Hastie have begun canvassing colleagues, with some claiming he has stronger backing than Mr Taylor. Mr Hastie has also discussed the timing of a possible challenge, potentially ahead of parliament's return on February 3 or during the following sitting fortnight.

Mr Taylor, who is returning from an overseas holiday, is yet to make formal approaches, with colleagues noting his frontbench role limits his ability to openly challenge the leader.

Despite sympathy for Ms Ley's handling of the Nationals dispute, many Liberals believe the Coalition split has accelerated momentum toward a leadership change, particularly with the opposition facing Labor in a weakened parliamentary position.

Ms Ley has left the door open to reconciliation with the Nationals, but internal doubts remain over who would accept vacant shadow portfolios with a spill looming.