Peter Dunne: United Future's decision to disband the right call given it is no longer in Parliament

Former United Future leader Peter Dunne, who was a minister under Labour-led and National-led Governments, said he felt sad that the party was no more. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Former United Future leader Peter Dunne says it was inevitable that the party would disband, given it no longer has a presence in Parliament.

Party leader Damian Light has confirmed that United Future will fold, citing the lack of support in the election, where the party won only 0.1 per cent of the vote.

Dunne, who stood down a month before the election fearing a loss in the Ohariu seat, said the party's demise was inevitable.

"One of the challenges a small party faces when it doesn't have a rich patron or something like that behind it is just the sheer resourcing difficulty of getting on with the job, pushing the cause, when you don't have a seat in Parliament.

"It was going to be an upward struggle. ... how you remain relevant as a party outside Parliament is precisely what the Maori Party is facing now."

Dunne, who was a minister under Labour-led and National-led Governments, said he felt sad that the party was no more.

"But I also look back with considerable pride at what we were able to achieve. You can look at specific policies, but I think the really important thing is that we provided, over a period of 15 years when New Zealand was still experimenting with MMP, stable and reliable Government, and it's fair to say also that that was recognised by successive Prime Ministers.

"We worked constructively, and we didn't grandstand."

He said the decision to disband was the right decision, though he encouraged Light to stay involved in politics.

"I think he's got a huge future."