Bridges expected to face vote of no confidence
National MPs are expecting a vote of no confidence in leader Simon Bridges next week after a disastrous poll that had the party fetching just 30.6 per cent of the vote.
Were Bridges to lose that vote it would spark an immediate leadership contest. But while some are manoeuvring, other MPs see the ‘‘transaction cost’’ of replacing Bridges as leader as too high.
Monday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll put National’s popularity at its lowest in more than a decade at 30.6 per cent, 26 points behind Labour at 56.5 per cent.
A drop in the party vote of this size at the election would put National not just out of contention for Government, but returning to Parliament with a caucus 16 MPs smaller, and less funding for staff.
However, most MPs are not yet set on the best path to get the party out of its rut. Some are waiting to see a rumoured 1 News/Colmar Brunton poll expected later this week. But there is a widespread expectation of a vote of no confidence at next Tuesday’s caucus meeting, even if just to put the question of leadership to rest.
Bridges has faced tests of his leadership before but has not faced a formal vote of no confidence. He has been asked for comment.
One National MP who spoke to Stuff on condition of anonymity said his low ratings in the preferred prime ministerial poll made it difficult to see him winning an election. ‘‘It’s hard to see how he can fight an election campaign when only 4.5 per cent of people want him to be prime minister.’’
Another MP said the problem was the public was actively hostile to Bridges being the person bringing National’s message to them.
Several saw Bridges’ comment concerning the Prime Minister dying her hair on Newshub on Tuesday night – a joke that he didn’t dye his hair himself – as a particularly egregious example of poor leadership. But others see the cost of a possibly bloody leadership contest as far too high.
Also speaking anonymously, another National MP said the last thing the party needed was a public battle about itself while the country was focused on coronavirus.
Another MP said once the focus moved to the economy, the situation would be easier for National, an argument Bridges himself made on Newstalk ZB yesterday morning. ‘‘We had a bounce after Christchurch in 2011. That’s the reality of where we’re at,’’ the MP said.
There is a rough consensus that main contenders for the job are Todd Muller, Mark Mitchell, and Judith Collins.
Newshub reported that National MP David Bennett replied ‘‘we’re working on it’’ to an email asking him to roll Bridges.