David Littleproud remains Nationals leader after spill motion fails

It comes as David Littleproud is set to meet Liberal leader Sussan Ley to negotiate reuniting the Coaltiion.

A man walking down a hallway.

The spill motion against Nationals leader David Littleproud was widely expected to fail. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

David Littleproud will remain the leader of the National Party after a failed spill motion.

Queensland MP Colin Boyce launched the attempt to trigger a leadership spill shortly after 2pm on Monday, but it failed to garner the support needed from his colleagues to trigger a vote.

In brief remarks to reporters following the party room meeting, Nationals MP Michelle Landry did not detail how many people voted for and against the motion.

Landry also said the party room had not yet discussed Victorian Nationals MP Darren Chester's motion to reunite the Coalition, after the Nationals and Liberals recently split for the second time since the May federal election — this time over new anti-hate laws.

Earlier, Boyce had been realistic about unseating the incumbent.

"David Littleproud will remain the leader, and he will be comprehensively voted in," he told ABC radio.

It follows nearly two weeks of infighting between the former coalition parties, triggered by a split vote on Labor's controversial hate speech laws.

The backbencher said he was moving the motion as the Nationals were committing "political suicide" by trying to go it alone without the Liberal Party's support.

"I'm hoping to achieve a change of leadership in the National Party and the Liberal Party, and then I hope that we can form a coalition agreement, wipe the slate clean, get rid of the egos and personalities, start afresh," Boyce said.

Several Nationals members expected the motion to fail.

Following the Nationals party room meeting, Littleproud will meet with embattled Opposition leader Sussan Ley to negotiate reuniting the Coalition after its breakup last week.

Ley earlier announced an interim Liberal-only shadow cabinet, giving the Nationals a week-long deadline to decide whether the split would be made permanent.

If the parties aren't reunited by the second sitting week, the Liberals plan to promote six of their MPs to the shadow cabinet and two to the outer shadow ministry.

This is a developing story and this article will be updated.


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