Labour now eyeing successful transition

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

Labour leader Chris Hipkins was gracious and at times emotional in his concession speech to supporters on Saturday night, in the face of a devastating defeat for his party after six years in Government.
From the highs of the 2020 election which ushered in New Zealand’s first majority Government in the MMP era, Labour slumped to a preliminary result of just 26.9 percent — barely half of what it achieved three years ago and the worst result for a sitting Government since the MMP voting system was introduced for the 1996 election. The only worse result for Labour is 25.13 percent in the 2014 election under David Cunliffe.
(National’s worst MMP result is 20.93 percent in 2002 under Bill English in his first stint as leader. At the last election, National got 25.58 percent with Judith Collins at the helm.)
Labour’s caucus of 65 MPs falls to 34, if none are added after special votes are counted. Among the 21 MPs to lose their jobs on election night are former ministers Nanaia Mahuta and Michael Wood. Former leader Andrew Little added to the exodus in announcing his resignation from politics on Tuesday.
While public support for Labour plummeted, its natural support partners on the left picked up a good deal of that in what was a successful election night for the Greens and Te Pāti Māori. 
The Green Party goes from 10 MPs to 14, equal to its most ever which was across two terms from 2011-2017 — but this time with a record three of them being electorate MPs, picking up the former Labour strongholds of Wellington Central and Rongotai.
Te Pāti Māori stunned Labour in the Māori electorates, winning four of seven seats on election night; its candidates are also within 500 votes of senior Labour MPs Kelvin Davis and Peeni Henare in Te Tai Tokerau and Tāmaki Makaurau, so those races won’t be settled until the final count.
After lying low for a couple of days, Hipkins was back in Parliament on Tuesday as Labour farewelled its host of departing MPs and held the first meeting of its new, slimmed-down caucus.
Speaking to media afterwards, he said the team had reflected on what they were proud of and what they could work on. He said he remained leader, with Davis still deputy, and he was “absolutely committed to supporting Labour into opposition”.
He is making the right noises now as Labour regroups, intent on making a good fist of its return to Opposition and avoiding the infighting and leadership travails both Labour and then National suffered during this time  in our recent political history.
Labour is almost certain to change leader, though, and its party rules require a leadership vote within three months of losing an election.