A less than 24-hour window in which National's Tauranga MP was demoted and National Party leader Judith Collins was rolled has been labelled "a tough day for the National Party".
On Wednesday evening Collins demoted Simon Bridges and stripped him of his portfolios for alleged serious misconduct involving an exchange with MP Jacqui Dean five years ago.
On Thursday it backfired as party members passed a vote of no confidence against the leader of 16 months after a more-than three-hour party caucus.
Deputy party leader Dr Shane Reti will be the interim leader until the next caucus meeting on Tuesday to decide the make-up of a "fresh leadership team".
Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller said "it's been a tough day for the National Party".
"We have got a clear process in front of us so next week we can select a new leader and take the fight to the Government, which is what we need to do for the people of the Bay of Plenty."
Muller said between now and then he would reflect on what was best for the future of the party.
Yesterday Bridges revealed he was considering seeking a return to the leadership - saying National under Collins "haven't done a good enough job".
He said compared to the Bridges of a few years ago, he was today "an older, possibly wiser guy".
"I do think I have a sense of what New Zealand needs at this time," Bridges added.
Bridges earlier described Collins' behaviour as "truly desperate" and said it showed she would go to any lengths to hold on to the leadership.
It is understood the allegations of "serious misconduct" relate to comments Bridges allegedly made at a function about five years ago.
Bridges is understood to have been talking with a group of about three fellow MPs, including Jami-Lee Ross and Rotorua MP Todd McClay, when Dean walked past and the Tauranga MP made a comment relating to a sex technique to conceive a girl.
Dean complained about it at the time and Bridges was spoken to by then deputy leader Bill English and apologised.
National Party Central North Island chairman and Bay of Plenty regional councillor Andrew von Dadelszen said he was stunned by Bridges' sudden demotion.
"This is just despicable. I have 100 per cent confidence in Simon and he has my support, without a shadow of any doubt.
"Simon has always operated with a straight bat and he's a great guy. This is a despicable act that smacks of desperation."
Von Dadelszen said Collins had "lived by the sword and died by the sword".
He said he would back Bridges "100 per cent" if he chose to go for party leadership again and would encourage him to do so.
"Simon has really grown incredibly since he was dismissed as a leader by Todd Muller. He has grown in every which way there is, and he is straight as a die. I absolutely think he's got all the talent and skills to be an even stronger leader."
Von Dadelszen said there was huge support for Bridges to be given the chance to lead the party again and this was reflected in the huge number of messages of support for him and his wife Natalie from around the central North Island.
Western Bay of Plenty councillor and National Party member Margaret Murray-Benge said she too was stunned by Bridges' sudden demotion.
"I'm appalled. I think Simon is a really fine fellow and while I don't know what the exact allegation involves, he does not deserve to be treated like this. No one does.
"Simon is an open and honest guy, he's a highly intelligent, hardworking and committed MP. He's a young man with all the ingredients to become a great leader of this country.
"I have been a great fan of Judith and I like them both. But this is a huge blunder on her part."
Former National MP Bob Clarkson said it was "absolutely ridiculous" the incident from five years ago had been brought to the surface.
"That thing that happened should be dealt with at the time. Not come back all those years later.
"There must be more to it, there has got to be something in the background."
Ngāi Te Rangi's chief executive Paora Stanley said he felt "shattered" for Bridges, whom he described as a "good man" who had served Tauranga for many years.
He believed Collins' move was an "undermining of her own mana" as the party leader.
"It is pretty sad. The guy has been around for a long time, he is experienced."
Stanley said in general he believed National needed to be "a lot more open about how they're traversing within politics".
Tauranga Labour Party list MP Jan Tinetti said: "We're in the middle of a global pandemic and the Government's focus is on managing that, not the ongoing leadership issues in the National Party."
Act leader David Seymour, who was in Tauranga yesterday, said he thought National had "deserted the field leaving Act to take on the Government all by ourselves".
"We relish the challenge, and we think we're up to it."
He said while he didn't know the facts of the alleged incident, "if you have an issue like that, what a leader should do is take a step back, put professionals in place to go through a proper process to work out what happened and decide what to do about it".
"An employer can face a nightmare in their organisation if there's an accusation like that, or indeed an offence. They have to make sure the organisation's fulfilled its responsibility to the people. That's what every business in New Zealand faces, so that's what every leader should be prepared to do."
Seymour said he believed political parties should be addressing other issues such as Covid policies and the cost of living.
Interim leader Reti told media the "caucus was concerned with the content of the press release" issued by Collins about demoting Bridges.
He refused to disclose what private conversations he had with colleagues about the matter and declined to disclose the exact details of the "serious allegation".
"We're looking for our new leadership team on Tuesday to bring us back in focus," Reti said.
"This is a business for the party, it is a business for MPs," he added.
"My job at the moment is to shepherd and guide the caucus through to the leadership decision next week."
Collins is the third National Party leader to vacate the position in fewer than 18 months.
Bridges held the leadership for 15 months to May 2020 when he was voted out in response to Bridges' low approval rating in a public poll.
Muller held the position from then until July 2020 before standing down for mental health reasons. Collins then took over.
In an email to members this afternoon, National President Peter Goodfellow addressed the decision of Collins to demote Bridges and strip him of his portfolios last night.
Goodfellow said the board "unanimously supported a first step in seeking further information from the parties involved and ensure the Member of Parliament who was the subject of the allegations was given the opportunity to provide a considered response before any conclusions were drawn".
He added that "no specific penalties or actions were discussed, agreed, or endorsed by the Board at its meeting yesterday, beyond our support for an investigation in line with due process."
"It was not and is not a role of the board to give approval to demote Caucus members or take similar action".
This essentially rejects Collins' claim, made late on Thursday night that she acted "with unanimous support of the board of the National Party" to demote Bridges.
- Additional reporting NZ Herald
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