Andrew Hastie has confirmed he won’t contest the Liberal party leadership, clearing the path for fellow rightwinger Angus Taylor to challenge Sussan Ley. “Over the past few weeks there has been speculation about the future leadership of the Liberal party of Australia,” Hastie said in a statement. “I’ve previously stated that I would welcome the opportunity to serve my party and our country as leader of the Liberal party. Ley defeated Taylor 29 votes to 25 to win the Liberal leadership after last year’s federal election. The decision was endorsed at a meeting on Friday of Ley’s Liberal leadership team, which includes Taylor.