Former Labour, National MPs explain their switch to NZ First
Former Labour and National MPs have defected to the New Zealand First party, citing a disconnect between their former parties' current directions and their original values. The defectors, including Stuart Nash and Dover Samuels, claim their former parties have abandoned their core principles.
Why it matters
This shift highlights significant political realignment and internal dissatisfaction within New Zealand's major political parties, potentially impacting future election dynamics.
Former ministers who have defected to New Zealand First say they did not leave their parties - their parties left them.
Former Labour cabinet minister Stuart Nash and former National MPs Harete Hipango-Brownlie and Alfred Ngaro were at the party's 33rd annual conference in South Auckland on Saturday.
Speaking at the conference, Nash acknowledged two other Labour stalwarts who have gone to NZ First - Rino Tirikatene and Dover Samuels.
Former Labour cabinet minister Stuart Nash is among several National and Labour MPs who have defected to New Zealand First.
He said the Nash family and the Tirikatene whānau were two of the "staunchest" Labour families, and the "old Labour" values still ran "strong" through his veins.
"Like other former ministers - my mate Dover Samuels, the Honourable Shane Jones - we didn't leave Labour, Labour left us."
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