July 16, 2026 — 6:54pmThe Victorian Liberal Party will move to dump Moira Deeming as a candidate at the November state election on Friday after the western suburbs MP abandoned legal action restraining it from disendorsing her.The Supreme Court of Victoria announced on Thursday that Deeming had discontinued proceedings she initiated two weeks ago to prevent the Liberal Party’s state executive from meeting to rescind her candidacy.Moira Deeming is expected to be dumped as a Liberal candidate for the state election when the party meets to decide her fate on Friday.Luis Enrique AscuiThe party called the meeting for 5.30pm on Friday after Deeming refused to apologise for making assault allegations against former state leader Matthew Guy.Deeming, in a complaint to Opposition Leader Jess Wilson’s office and shared with colleagues, accused Guy of placing her in a violent headlock while the MPs were seated at a Macedonian community function on May 23.Deeming also provided a statement to Victoria Police.Victoria Police decided not to charge Guy after viewing CCTV footage of the episode – published by this masthead – that showed Guy momentarily placing a hand on Deeming’s shoulder while the pair were engaged in conversation in the middle of a noisy public function.Victoria Police, in a letter sent to Deeming’s lawyer, Tim Houweling, earlier this week, confirmed their decision not to charge Guy.Deeming’s decision to abandon her legal proceedings – and lift an injunction against the party meeting to determine her political fate – follows a flurry of correspondence sent by Deeming to the state executive and posted on social media arguing her case to remain as a Liberal candidate.Deeming has not offered an apology to Guy or for the political damage her allegations have done to the party four months before a state election.Deeming withdrew her allegation that Guy put her in a headlock but insists she was “grabbed, held and pulled down with force that caused me pain and distress”.A senior party source said the state executive would meet at 5.30pm on Friday to consider Deeming’s candidacy. Although party rules require a three-quarters majority to disendorse a candidate, Deeming has exhausted what support she previously had on the party’s governing board.Deeming was preselected three months ago to stand as the party’s No.1 candidate for the Western Metropolitan Region in a shambolic process punctuated by revelations that the party’s preferred candidate Dinesh Gourisetty provided a character reference to a convicted child sex offender.While that episode appeared to elongate Deeming’s political career, Deeming’s allegation against Guy eroded any goodwill she had from colleagues and the backing she previously enjoyed from influential conservative figures such as Sky News broadcaster Peta Credlin.Credlin’s husband, Brian Loughnane, is the state president of the Liberal Party, the chair of the state executive and, until Thursday, was the first-named respondent in Deeming’s legal action against her own party.Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.Chip Le Grand leads our state politics reporting team. He previously served as the paper’s chief reporter and is a journalist of 30 years’ experience.Connect via email.From our partners