 Former Premier Denis Napthine stood down as Liberal leader following the election loss.Guy was elected as leader of the Liberal Party in a leadership ballot contested on 4 December 2014, making him Leader of the Opposition after defeating Michael O'Brien for the position.In January 2017, following a riot in which several juvenile inmates escaped from a correctional facility, Guy criticised the state government by remarking several times that "This is a government who is standing by and allowing Melbourne to become the Johannesburg of the South Pacific."