The 2018 New Zealand National Party leadership election was held on 27 February 2018 to determine the 12th
Leader
Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...
of the
National Party. On 13 February 2018,
Bill English
Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former National Party politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017 and as the 17th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and minister of f ...
announced his resignation as leader of the National Party, effective on 27 February 2018. He left Parliament on 13 March 2018. On 20 February, Deputy Leader Paula Bennett announced that a concurrent deputy leadership election would take place, in which she would stand.
After a secret caucus ballot
Simon Bridges
Simon Joseph Bridges (born 12 October 1976) is a former New Zealand politician and lawyer. He served as Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2018 and 2020, and as the Member of Parliament for Tauranga from the to ...
was declared the new leader of the National Party and
Paula Bennett
Paula Lee Bennett (born 9 April 1969) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 18th deputy prime minister of New Zealand between December 2016 and October 2017. She served as the deputy leader of the National Party from 2016 to 202 ...
was re-elected as deputy.
Background
The
Fifth National Government of New Zealand
The Fifth National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand for three parliamentary terms from 19 November 2008 to 26 October 2017. John Key served as National Leader and Prime Minister until December 2016, after which Bill En ...
came to an end after the
2017 general election saw the National Party win 44% of the vote and
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
and
New Zealand First
New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winst ...
form the minority
Sixth Labour Government with
confidence and supply
In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house.
A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of parl ...
from the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
. On 13 February 2018
Bill English
Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former National Party politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017 and as the 17th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and minister of f ...
, the leader of the National Party and Prime Minister from 2016 to 2017, announced his resignation as party leader effective on 27 February, and as a Member of Parliament effective on 13 March.
Deputy leader
Paula Bennett
Paula Lee Bennett (born 9 April 1969) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 18th deputy prime minister of New Zealand between December 2016 and October 2017. She served as the deputy leader of the National Party from 2016 to 202 ...
asked National senior
whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
Jami-Lee Ross
Jami-Lee Matenga Ross (born 1985) is a New Zealand former politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Botany electorate in Auckland from the March 2011 Botany by-election, when he became the youngest MP at the time, until 2020. He ...
for her role to also be put up for election, but she would run to keep the position. No other candidate declared an intention to run for the deputy leadership before 27 February.
Candidates
Declared candidates
At the time of the election, the following individuals were candidates:
Withdrew before vote
Declined
The following individuals were speculated as being possible leadership candidates, but ruled out a bid:
*
Maggie Barry
Margaret Mary Barry (born 5 October 1959), generally known as Maggie Barry, is a New Zealand politician and former member of the House of Representatives, first elected in the 2011 general election. She is a member of the National Party, and ...
, MP for
North Shore since 2011
*
Paula Bennett
Paula Lee Bennett (born 9 April 1969) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 18th deputy prime minister of New Zealand between December 2016 and October 2017. She served as the deputy leader of the National Party from 2016 to 202 ...
, MP for
Upper Harbour since 2014,
Deputy Leader of the National Party
*
Jonathan Coleman, MP for
Northcote since 2005
*
Nathan Guy
Allen Nathan Guy (born 1970) is a New Zealand former politician of the National Party. He was elected to Parliament in 2005 as a list MP and represented the electorate of Ōtaki after the 2008 election. He served as Minister of Immigration ...
, MP for
Ōtaki since 2005
*
Nikki Kaye
Nicola Laura Kaye (born 11 February 1980) is a New Zealand politician who served as Deputy Leader of the New Zealand National Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 22 May 2020 to 14 July 2020.
Kaye served as the member of the New Zea ...
, MP for
Auckland Central since 2008
*
Todd McClay
Todd Michael McClay (born 22 November 1968) is a New Zealand politician and former ambassador. He is the Member of Parliament for Rotorua. He was previously an ambassador for the Cook Islands and Niue to the European Union.
Early life
McClay ...
, MP for
Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...
since 2008
*
Todd Muller
Todd Michael Muller (; born 23 December 1968) is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Leader of the Opposition from 22 May to 14 July 2020.
Muller entered Parliament at the 2014 general el ...
, MP for
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...
since 2014
Public opinion polling
Result
The election was conducted as a
secret ballot
The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...
of the National Party parliamentary caucus.
An
exhaustive ballot
The exhaustive ballot is a voting system used to elect a single winner. Under the exhaustive ballot the elector casts a single vote for their chosen candidate. However, if no candidate is supported by an overall majority of votes then the candid ...
method was used, so that the support of 29 of the 56 MPs were required to elect the leader. Bridges was elected party leader after two rounds of voting.
Bennett and Collins ran for the deputy leadership, and Bennett was re-elected to the position.
Outcomes
On 6 March Joyce announced his retirement from politics following speculation he would lose the finance portfolio. Joyce wouldn't confirm or deny this but said Bridges offered him a "high-ranking" portfolio.
On 11 March Bridges announced his shadow cabinet which saw Adams, Collins and Mitchell receive promotions; ranked 3rd, 4th and 7th respectively.
Two weeks later, former leadership contender
Jonathan Coleman resigned from Parliament; Adams announced her own upcoming retirement in early 2019.
Bridges held the leadership for two years, before being successfully challenged for the role by
Todd Muller
Todd Michael Muller (; born 23 December 1968) is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Leader of the Opposition from 22 May to 14 July 2020.
Muller entered Parliament at the 2014 general el ...
.
See also
*
*
52nd New Zealand Parliament
The 52nd New Zealand Parliament was a session of legislature in New Zealand, which opened on 7 November 2017 following the 2017 general election and dissolved on 6 September 2020. The New Zealand Parliament comprises the Sovereign (represented ...
References
{{NZ National Party
2018 elections in New Zealand
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
February 2018 events in New Zealand
New Zealand National Party leadership election