‘He’s gotta show something’: Who’s who in Qld Labor’s factions, and how they pick their leaders |
‘He’s gotta show something’: Who’s who in Qld Labor’s factions, and how they pick their leaders
May 23, 2026 — 5:59am
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Labor leader Steven Miles has been urged by his colleagues to use the dismal Stafford byelection result as an opportunity to reset the Opposition and fine tune the party’s strategy and cohesion.
There are no active discussions to move on Miles, who retains the backing of the party room, but there are frustrations with his lack of progress in the 18 months since the 2024 election.
And as a deadline to settle on an alternative premier before the next state poll approaches, a leadership logjam in the dominant Left faction delays a genuine challenge.
The party retained the seat of Stafford in Brisbane’s inner-north in last weekend’s knife-edge poll, despite an 8 per cent collapse in its primary vote, emerging victorious thanks to Greens preferences.
But a once reliable Labor stronghold has been trimmed to a razor margin of about 1 per cent, with the scale of the swing triggering much soul-searching.
The party’s long-held view is a leader needs two years in the role before the next state poll in late 2028, after internal analysis blamed the last election loss on Miles only having 10 months in the premier’s job.
But Labor sources told this masthead there’s a lack of clarity about who would replace Miles, with one saying “maybe we would be having that [leadership] conversation a bit earlier” if the successor was clear, while another........