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Mike Nahan takes the Liberal reins and attacks Labor's union ties

Mike Nahan has been elected Liberal leader and wasted no time attacking the Labor party for packing its new cabinet with power former trade unionist.

Dr Nahan was voted in by the party around 11am, with Liza Harvey remaining the deputy leader.

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"Look at the list of Parliamentarians and members and the majority of the Labor party are union members or ex-union bosses or advisors to Labor governments," he told reporters on Tuesday morning.

"It is a small gene pool they are selecting from....that's a problem of the Labor party.

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"And the left has been the dominant force in the Labor party of Western Australia and we have seen the ramifications of that and we increasingly see that."

Dr Nahan said he would contest the 2021 election despite two high-ranking Liberal insiders telling WAtoday on Monday he wouldn't be at the helm in four years time.

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"I'm not here for the short term," he said.

Dr Nahan refused to be drawn into the future of former premier Colin Barnett, despite two days ago claiming he should step down from his seat of Cottesloe.

Mr Barnett confirmed on Tuesday morning he would step down as party leader after the crushing election defeat.

"That is enough - I've said what I've said and I'm moving forward," Dr Nahan said.

"I'm the leader; Liza is the deputy that is it.

"[Barnett] will no doubt depart from Cottesloe in his own time."

I'm not going to dance on anything, and I'm certainly not going to lay blame to any one individual or one particular party.

He said the public had sent the Liberal party a clear message.

"A pretty big one," he said. 

"We are small but a very experienced and unified team."

"You will see an aggressive unified Liberal party going forward holding the Labor party to account."

Earlier in the day, Liberal MPs defended Mr Barnett's role in the party's election loss and his plan to remain the Cottesloe MLA before they entered Parliament House. 

North Metropolitan MLC Peter Collier vehemently defended the former premier to reporters on Tuesday after Mr Nahan, the former Treasurer, blamed him for the huge election loss.

"I'm not going to dance on anything, and I'm certainly not going to lay blame to any one individual or one particular party," Mr Collier said.

"There was a conjuncture of circumstances which saw a change of government."

He then appeared to have a dig at his new boss.

"I've been in politics all my life, I'm very mindful of that," he said.

"For anyone to lay blame at one person or one particular issue is naive in the extreme. Politics is not like that.

"Now there were a raft of issues, which collectively meant there was a change of government.

"I have great respect for Colin, I think his legacy will be a very proud one. I'm privileged to be part of his government, and I think history will reflect very, very fondly on Colin Barnett and his legacy."

Mr Collier would also not buy in to debate about whether Mr Barnett should remain in politics or retire and force a by-election of his blue-ribbon seat Cottesloe.

"Colin has been in the party for 25 years and I'm going to give him the respect he truly deserves," he said.

"He's a great asset to the party. If you have a look at his history - unblemished."

Ms Harvey would also not be drawn into the ex-premier's future.

But she did reveal a handful of Liberal heavies had lunch last Friday to dissect the election wipeout and started planning for a future in Opposition.

"A group of us had lunch last Friday to talk about what we'll do going forward, so we'll discuss these things in the party room," Ms Harvey said.

"I had a great conversation with Mike [Nahan] the other day and we've already started talking about strategy.

"We are very keen to hold Mark McGowan and his team to account."

Liberal upper house MP Robyn McSweeney, among 15 of Mr Barnett's colleagues to vote in favour of an ultimately defeated spill motion against him last year, said she felt the 66-year-old was burnt out.

"I think he should go and let people get on with it," she said.

"The Liberals will have a hard road ahead of them.

"I think out with the old and in with the new."

Dr Nahan was more tight-lipped before entering the party room but did say he planned on being a more open leader than his predecessor.

"It's a very small team, everyone will have a role, everyone will have a policy role going forward," he said.

"But I will be a very inclusive leader."

Entering Parliament House one last time as Liberal leader, Mr Barnett thanked those who had sent him messages of support.

"Not only do I appreciate what they've had to say, I've enjoyed the respect they have shown to me," he said on Tuesday.

"I'll stand down now as leader and I will simply, as I have said, go quietly to the backbench as the member for Cottesloe."

- with AAP

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