Simon Bridges' National Party leadership bid: Bay supporters have their say

National Party MP Simon Bridges has confirmed his intention to bid for the party leadership again. Photo / NZME

"He will do a much better job the second time around."

That's the view of one National voter after Tauranga MP Simon Bridges confirmed yesterday he would again seek the party's leadership.

Bridges was the first candidate to confirm an intention to run in the race to be the next leader of the party, filling the vacancy left by Judith Collins amid two days of turmoil.

Collins lost her National leadership in a vote of no confidence on Thursday, the day after she accused Bridges of "serious misconduct" at a party event five years ago and stripped him of his portfolios.

The alleged misconduct involved a comment Bridges made to MP Jacqui Dean, who told the Otago Daily Times she was surprised and disappointed Collins had used it to demote Bridges.

Collins said her demotion decision was endorsed by the National Party board - a claim the party's president Peter Goodfellow has since rejected.

Collins was replaced by interim leader Shane Reti ahead of a new leadership vote on Tuesday.

Newstalk ZB yesterday reported that Chris Bishop had indicated he was thinking about running for the job. Other candidates are said to include Chris Luxon, Mark Mitchell and Nicola Willis.

Former National Party leader Judith Collins. Photo /NZME

Tauranga business owner Aaron Brown, 47, said Collins' axing of Bridges was in his view "pretty low-brow politics" given the issue that sparked it was "dragged up" from five years ago.

Brown said he believed Bridges should be reinstated given the National Party board president confirmed it had not endorsed Collins' actions.

In terms of the list of potential leadership contenders, Whangaparaoa electorate MP Mark Mitchell was a "relatively interesting" candidate, he said.

If Mitchell puts his name forward to replace Collins it would be his third attempt to be elected party leader.

Andrew von Dadelszen, Bay of Plenty Regional councillor and National Party central North Island board executive member, said he supported Bridges "100 per cent".

"I absolutely have faith in him to be a great leader of the party again if he is given the chance."

National party supporter and Western Bay of Plenty councillor Margaret Murray-Benge. Photo / NZME

Longstanding National party supporter and Western Bay of Plenty councillor Margaret Murray-Benge said she continued to back Bridges' leadership bid.

"I suggest that if Simon does gets the chance to lead the party again he could choose someone from the Auckland region to become deputy leader such as East Coast Bays MP Erica Stanford."

She said she would also like to see interim party leader Dr Shane Reti take over the health portfolio.

She thought Collins still had a role to play in the party but said, in her opinion, the former leader had been "absolutely stupid" in demoting Bridges, who was one of the party's strongest MPs.

"I certainly wouldn't like to see her try to stir up more trouble for Simon at Tuesday's caucus meeting. "

A Pāpāmoa-based National Party supporter, 34, who asked not to be identified for work reasons, said reinstating Bridges' portfolios was the fair thing to do.

"I think lots of people will support Simon's reinstatement as party leader now they appreciate more how difficult a job it is.

"I'm sure he will do a much better job the second time around," he said.

However, long-standing National Party supporter Mike Garrett, in his 60s and from Ohauiti, said in his opinion Bridges and Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller should both resign.

Muller rolled Bridges for the leadership in May last year, but stepped down after 53 days. He was later demoted from the party's caucus by new leader Collins and announced he would retire before the next election.

Garrett said while he was not a fan of Bridges, he believed Collins should not have demoted him for something that was dealt with five years ago.

Garrett said he quite liked Reti as a contender as he had a lot of good leadership qualities including how he handles himself in tough situations.

Another long-standing National Party voter, 68, from Ohauiti said he did not really support Bridges in the past but the MP did not deserve to be treated the way he had.

The voter said while he believed Bridges had not done a good job as the party leader in the past "everyone deserves a second chance".

Bridges could not be contacted for comment, and his electorate office secretary told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend that he was heavily involved in several meetings.