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The 2021 New Zealand National Party leadership election was held on 30 November 2021 following the removal of leader Judith Collins in a vote of no confidence on 25 November 2021. Deputy leader Shane Reti was made interim leader until the election. Simon Bridges was the only person to publicly announce his candidacy. About an hour before the National Party caucus was set to meet, he withdrew from the race and endorsed Christopher Luxon. [1]
Judith Collins was elected leader of the New Zealand National Party on 14 July 2020 following the sudden resignation of Todd Muller for health reasons. She went on to lead the National Party to its second-worst result in the 2020 election. [2] Opinion polling for National did not significantly improve in the following year and Collins' approval rating remained low. Instead, the ACT party made significant gains and leader David Seymour overtook Collins in preferred prime minister polling. [3] This led to frequent media speculation that a leadership contest was imminent, with former leader Simon Bridges and first-term MP Christopher Luxon seen as the most likely candidates. [4] [5] A November 2021 Newshub–Reid Research poll of all voters as to their preferred National Party leader found that 40.7% favoured Bridges while 23.2% favoured Collins, with the rest unsure; of National voters, Bridges was on 41.8% and Collins on 39.9%. [6]
Late at night on 24 November 2021, Collins suddenly demoted Bridges and stripped him of his portfolios over a complaint about alleged comments he made to fellow National MP Jacqui Dean in 2017. [7] Dean had complained at the time and Bridges had apologised. Collins claimed she had the unanimous support of the party's Board of Directors in her decision, a claim which was later rejected by party president Peter Goodfellow. [8] She planned to hold a press conference with Dean the next morning. Bridges and other MPs accused Collins of using the complaint for political gain. On the morning of 25 November, Collins was removed as leader by a vote of no confidence during a three-hour caucus meeting. She had held the position for 16 months. [2] [9]
Deputy leader Shane Reti was made interim leader until a leadership election was held the following week. [2] [9]
Various MPs were discussed as potential candidates, including Chris Bishop, Mark Mitchell, Shane Reti, and Nicola Willis, [10] however by 29 November the race was believed to have come down former leader and Tauranga MP Simon Bridges, and first term Botany MP Christopher Luxon. [11]
| Name | Positions | Reported caucus support | Endorsements |
|---|---|---|---|
 Simon Bridges |
|
| |
 Christopher Luxon |
|
| |
Several National MPs openly discussed running or were speculated by the media as potential candidates but eventually did not contest the leadership. [10]
The day before the caucus meeting the MPs were reported as being split with 18 to Luxon and 15 to Bridges, seen as an indecisive result. [17] Following negotiations to avoid a contest, Simon Bridges withdrew and Christopher Luxon was elected leader. At 409 days, this is the shortest period of time for an MP to ascend to the leadership of a major party after first entering parliament. [18]
Wellington-based list MP Nicola Willis was elected deputy leader. Luxon had asked her to be his deputy and National MPs knew they were standing as a joint ticket. [19]
The New Zealand National Party, shortened to National or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside its traditional rival, the Labour Party.
Judith Anne Collins is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 14 July 2020 to 25 November 2021. She was the second female Leader of the National Party, after Jenny Shipley. Collins has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Papakura since 2008 and was MP for Clevedon from 2002 to 2008. She was a government minister in the cabinets of John Key and of Bill English.
Michael Allan Woodhouse is a National member of the New Zealand Parliament.
Simon Joseph Bridges 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 2008 election to May 2022, when he resigned.
Todd Michael Muller 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.
Shane Raymond Reti is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, first elected at the 2014 general election. He is a member of the New Zealand National Party and served as its deputy leader from 10 November 2020 to 30 November 2021 including a period of five days as interim leader following the ousting of Judith Collins.
Maureen Helena Pugh is a New Zealand politician who is a Member of Parliament for the National Party. On preliminary results from the 2023 general election she is expected to be the Member of Parliament representing the West Coast-Tasman electorate. She was the mayor of the Westland District from 2004 to 2013.
Christopher Bishop is a New Zealand National Party politician who was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as a list MP. Bishop won the Hutt South electorate in 2017 but lost the seat in 2020. He returned to Parliament as a National list MP and served as National spokesperson for Housing and Infrastructure and is the Shadow Leader of the House. He is the Chairperson of National's 2023 Election Campaign.
Simeon Peter Brown is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party.
Nicola Valentine Willis is Deputy Leader of the National Party and its finance spokesperson in the New Zealand Parliament. Willis inherited Steven Joyce's seat in Parliament as the next on the party list after his retirement from politics in March 2018.
The 2018 New Zealand National Party leadership election was held on 27 February 2018 to determine the 12th Leader of the National Party. On 13 February 2018, Bill English 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.
Christopher Mark Luxon is a New Zealand politician and business executive who is the prime minister-designate of New Zealand. He served as the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National Party since 2021. He has been the member of Parliament (MP) for the Botany electorate since the 2020 general election. He was previously the chief executive officer of Air New Zealand from 2012 to 2019.
The 53rd New Zealand Parliament was a meeting of the legislature in New Zealand. It opened on 25 November 2020 following the 17 October 2020 general election, and dissolved on 8 September 2023 to trigger the next election. It consisted of 120 members of Parliament (MPs) with five parties represented: the Labour and Green parties, in government, and the National, Māori and ACT parties, in opposition. The Sixth Labour Government held a majority in this Parliament. Jacinda Ardern continued as prime minister until her resignation on 25 January 2023; she was succeeded by Chris Hipkins.
An election for the parliamentary leadership of the New Zealand National Party took place in the National Party parliamentary caucus on 22 May 2020. Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye stood against the existing leader Simon Bridges and his deputy leader Paula Bennett following poor polling results. Muller and Kaye won the votes and became the new leader and deputy leader respectively.
The Shadow Cabinet of Todd Muller was the official Opposition of the 52nd New Zealand Parliament. It comprised the members of the New Zealand National Party, which was the largest party not a member of the Government.
An election for the parliamentary leadership of the New Zealand National Party by its caucus was held on 14 July 2020, after incumbent Todd Muller resigned earlier that day citing health reasons. Judith Collins became leader of the National Party and of the Opposition of New Zealand.
The Shadow Cabinet of Judith Collins formed the official Opposition in the 53rd New Zealand Parliament, and previously in the 52nd Parliament. It comprised the members of the New Zealand National Party, which is the largest party not a member of the Government. On Collins' dismissal as leader on 25 November 2021, the cabinet essentially ceased to exist, but what remained was de jure led on an interim basis by her deputy leader, Shane Reti, until the next leadership election. The cabinet was succeeded by that of Christopher Luxon.
Joseph Mooney is a New Zealand politician. In 2020 he was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party in the Southland electorate.
In the New Zealand Parliament, the shadow leader of the House is traditionally appointed by the largest Opposition party. The position is currently held by Michael Woodhouse, a member of the New Zealand National Party.
The Shadow Cabinet of Christopher Luxon has formed the official Opposition in the 53rd New Zealand Parliament since December 2021, replacing the Shadow Cabinet of Judith Collins. Christopher Luxon was appointed Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition in a party leadership election on 30 November 2021.
