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<docID>332151</docID>
<postdate>2024-10-31 10:41:29</postdate>
<headline>Liberal leadership shock: Castley takes top job</headline>
<body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-327299" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Jeremy-Hanson-Leanne-Castley-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p>
<caption>The new crew... Canberra Liberals deputy leader Jeremy Hanson and leader Leanne Castley.</caption>
<p class="paragraph_paragraph__iYReA"><strong>Elizabeth Lee has been dumped as leader of the Canberra Liberals following what's been described as a "late-night agreement", where the party's two most recent deputy leaders combined to ensure Leanne Castley was elected leader and Jeremy Hanson her deputy at Thursday morning's party meeting.</strong></p>
<p>Ms Castley's surprise elevation to the leadership follows the Liberals' seventh consecutive loss at the October 19 election where they managed only to retain their nine seats in the Legislative Assembly.</p>
<p>Hanson, who withdrew from the race to back Castley as leader, is returning from the political wilderness Ms Lee despatched him to when he was ambushed at a party meeting in December and stripped of his deputy leadership and portfolios.</p>
<p>Ms Castley was voted deputy leader and, at the time, Ms Lee said: â€œGoing into an election year, it is more important than ever to have a leadership team that is in lockstep, and I know Leanne will support me 100 per cent and the direction we are taking to win government in 2024."</p>
<p class="paragraph_paragraph__iYReA">On Tuesday, announcing her intention to seek re-election to the job she'd held since 2020, Ms Lee described herself as the best person to lead the Liberals to the 2028 election.</p>
<p class="paragraph_paragraph__iYReA">Mark Parton stood on the Lee ticket as deputy.</p>
<p class="paragraph_paragraph__iYReA">Ms Castley was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2020.</p>
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