Julie Bishop says she would’ve defeated Labor leader Bill Shorten at the next election

‘I was confident that I could beat him’: Julie Bishop says she would have defeated Labor leader Bill Shorten at the next election if the Liberals had voted for her instead of falling victim to infighting

  • Julie Bishop is adamant she would have beaten Labor leader Bill Shorten
  • She would have had to run against him had she been named Liberal leader
  • Ms Bishop put her name in to take over the party after Malcolm Turnbull left
  • She claims the party were trying to beat each other they didn’t consider Shorten 

Julie Bishop believes she would have beaten Labor leader Bill Shorten in the next election had she been made Liberal leader.

The former deputy leader and foreign affairs minister sensationally announced her retirement from politics last week only months after losing out to Scott Morrison for the top job after the party’s leadership spill.

Ms Bishop decided to run for prime minister during the infamous leadership spill in August of 2018 that saw Malcolm Turnbull ousted from his role as Australia’s leader.

Julie Bishop is adamant she would have beaten Labor leader Bill Shorten in the next election had she been made Liberal leader during the recent leadership spill

Ms Bishop decided to run for prime minister during the infamous leadership spill in August of 2018 that saw Malcolm Turnbull ousted from his role as Australia's leader

Ms Bishop decided to run for prime minister during the infamous leadership spill in August of 2018 that saw Malcolm Turnbull ousted from his role as Australia’s leader

While she had secured about 28 votes heading into the spill, only 11 voted for her on the day, eliminating her from the first round and paving the way for Morrison to beat out Peter Dutton.

But Ms Bishop believes her colleagues were so concerned with the turmoil within the inner circle that nobody considered the most important factor – deciding who would be best to beat Labor leader Bill Shorten at the 2019 federal election. 

She said retiring cabinet minister Christopher Pyne was a key driver of a push to stop the party room from voting for her. 

‘If I had known that was what their thinking was, I could have dissuaded them of it but also I would have pointed out that the question was: Who could beat Bill Shorten?

‘And I was confident that I could beat Shorten,’ Ms Bishop told The Sunday Times.

But Ms Bishop believes her colleagues were so concerned with the turmoil within the inner circle that nobody considered the most important factor - deciding who would be best to beat Labor leader Bill Shorten (pictured) at the 2019 federal election

But Ms Bishop believes her colleagues were so concerned with the turmoil within the inner circle that nobody considered the most important factor – deciding who would be best to beat Labor leader Bill Shorten (pictured) at the 2019 federal election

She was also certain the Labor party knew it too.  

Ms Bishop said she was quietly confident ahead of the leadership spill, having spoken with a number of MP’s over the phone who guaranteed her their vote.

She said after 11 years of standing beside the multiple prime minister’s as deputy leader, she felt she owed it to Australia to put her hand up when the job became available.

‘And I also felt for all the women in Australia who had seen me as deputy for so long. I thought I’d be letting them down if I didn’t put my hand up,’ she said.

Only 11 ministers voted for Ms Bishop on the day, eliminating her from the first round and paving the way for Morrison (left) to beat out Peter Dutton (right)

The Morrison government have lost a handful of ministers heading into the federal election.

Ms Bishop has formally announced she will not contest her long held seat of Curtain in West Australia, and she also stepped down as foreign minister earlier in the year.

Christopher Pyne, Steve Ciobo, Kelly O’Dwyer, Michael Keenan and Nigel Scullion have all chosen to resign or step away from their prominent positions within the cabinet, as well.   

Polls are predicting the Labor party will win the federal election, despite Bill Shorten’s lack of popularity. 



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