Tauranga National Party MP Simon Bridges celebrates his 2011 general election win with wife Natalie Bridges. Photo/file
As Simon Bridges prepares for his potential future as leader of the Opposition, we look back to the day he won his second bid to stay on as Tauranga MP.
By Graham Skellern
Local MPs Tony Ryall and Simon Bridges played leading roles in the National Party's romp in the general election over the weekend.
National captured 60 seats after attracting 48 per cent of the party vote and Prime Minister John Key is looking to put formal agreements in place with Act, the Maori Party and United Future.
On a fascinating Saturday night which marked the comeback of the Winston Peters-led New Zealand First, collecting 6.8 per cent of the party vote and bringing in eight list MPs, the Labour vote collapsed to 27.1 per cent and 34 seats.
The NZ First triumph brought in list MP Brendan Horan, the former television weatherman, who was ranked sixth on the party list and missed out on Tauranga City Council last September. He finished second, well behind Mr Bridges, in the Tauranga electorate.
National picked up the largest number of seats in its history. Mr Ryall, expected to remain Health Minister, and Mr Bridges _ both representing the Western Bay region _ were two of the high fliers.
Mr Bridges, heading for his second term in Parliament, increased his majority to 15,812 from 11,742 in 2008, when he collected 20,147 votes in the Tauranga electorate.
Mr Horan had 4335 votes, ahead of Labour's Deborah Mahuta-Coyle with 4215.
The drop in the Labour vote meant Mrs Mahuta-Coyle, ranked a favourable 26th on the party list, missed out on being a list MP.
Mr Ryall, 47, is looking ahead to his eighth term in Parliament. He first represented East Cape in 1990-93, then Eastern Bay of Plenty, and Bay of Plenty from 1996.
His electorate now takes in a third of Tauranga city, with two-thirds of his voters, and the surrounding region from Omokoroa to Te Puke.
Mr Ryall captured 22,055 out of 33,352 votes _ there was a lower turnout than in 2008 _ and he cantered to a majority of 16,720, the third biggest in the country.
His leader, Mr Key, took the honours with a majority of 19,116 from 23,473 votes. Mr Bridges' majority was the fifth highest.
Mr Ryall finished well ahead of Labour's Carol Devoy-Heena, who had 5335 votes, and NZ First's Ray Dolman with 3463 votes.
Yesterday afternoon, Mr Ryall was flying back to Wellington to begin work following the month-long campaign. As Health Minister, he said he would continue to focus on frontline services but the money was going to be tight and ``we have to make sure we use it well''.
"I want to improve services for patients and have faster and more surgery. There's also more to be done with mental and children's health,'' he said.
The fashionable Mr Ryall, this time decked out in a green and white striped shirt and jeans, hosted 70 of his party faithfuls at the Rain Bar in Papamoa.
He was accompanied by his wife Kara, children Maisie, 14, Llewellyn, 10, and their friend Ben Sokimi.
Mr Bridges and his wife Natalie thanked 100 of their supporters at No1 The Strand. Both election parties were relaxed but subdued, as if the result was expected.
Lifting his celebratory glass, Mr Ryall told his supporters there were challenges ahead for the Bay.
"We don't know how difficult Psa and the kiwifruit industry is going to be, but if we stick together and be resilient, then we can pull our way through this.''
Mr Ryall said National was victorious because it had a plan for the economy and jobs. ``It was all about stability and certainty in difficult times, and I picked this up out on the street and in meetings in people's homes.''
He said Labour ran a negative campaign and the voting public responded by looking at other options such as the Greens and NZ First. "When the tide is going out, you lose a lot of friends and colleagues. That's what happened to Labour.''
Though successful in every election he has contested, Mr Ryall remembers the vote in 2002 when National plunged to 22 per cent _ similar to the fall in Labour this time around.
Former Crown prosecutor Mr Bridges will be looking for ``more responsibility'' in the next National Government after being deputy chairman of the justice and electoral select committee last term.
"I would like to go higher up the ranks, but whether I chair a select committee or something more is for John Key to decide,'' said Mr Bridges, ranked 30 on the party list.
"Right now, I'm still very much focused on Tauranga and I want to begin work on a trades academy, as well as keeping the infrastructure programme going, such as making the link between Tauranga and the Waikato a road of national significance,'' he said.
Mr Bridges said he had a laid-back day on Saturday but by 5.30pm the nerves and excitement were starting to kick in.
"There's nothing like coming down and seeing the results rolling in, and your colleagues doing well.''
Mr Bridges said NZ First and Greens had done very well at the expense of Labour.
"I think it's going to be a fractious opposition, where the parties will be attempting to score points off each other. It will be an interesting term.''
In his celebratory speech, Mr Bridges said: ``I feel privileged to renew my contract with Tauranga for another three years.
"I'm really happy because I feel I've given all that I've got as MP over the last three years.''