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Gerry Brownlee has announced that he will step down as deputy leader of the National Party.
Gerry Brownlee. Source: 1 NEWS
Brownlee issued a statement after special votes came in this afternoon.
“In July I assumed the role of deputy leader of the National Party to support Judith as our leader. I firmly believe that Judith ran an extremely good campaign in what was an unprecedented election.
“While I was proud to intervene at the time, and continue to be, I have always believed that influence is more important than position when it comes to politics,” says Brownlee.
“It is time to think about the next three years. I want Judith to have the strongest and complementary support by her side as a leader.
“My focus, going forward, will be to rebuild National’s base in Christchurch and represent our voters there.
“Consequently, I will not seek re-election as deputy leader when the Caucus meets on Tuesday.”
Brownlee took over the role of Deputy Leader from Judith Collins in mid-July, just two months before elections were scheduled before being delayed.
He lost the Ilam seat in Christchurch to Labor’s Sarah Pallett by 3,463 votes.
Brownlee described how he will stay as a deputy and continue to represent National at Ilam.
It comes as National’s 2020 election horror show has gone from bad to worse, losing two more MPs after the special votes were counted.
Labor candidates from three electorates who lost on the night have claimed victory over their national rivals following a special vote count.
At Maungakiekie Labor, Priyanca Radhakrishnan won by a 635 majority over National’s Denise Lee.
In Northland, Willow-Jean Prime defeated Matt King by a majority of 163 votes, while in Whangārei, Emily Henderson defeated Shane Reti with a majority of 431 votes.
