Nash finds desk to park his feet under

Newly-elected MP Stuart Nash says there are lessons for Labour. Photo / Paul Taylor

It's worst election result since 1922 saw Labour snatch just four seats off other parties over the weekend.

One of those rare wins was the Napier electorate, where former locally-based list MP Stuart Nash's long-running campaign to get back into Parliament proved successful.

Mr Nash said yesterday Labour's poor overall election result "provides opportunities" for the party and there were lessons it needed to take on board.

"When 75 per cent of the constituency says you're not relevant, or we don't buy into your vision, or we don't know what you stand for, then the party needs to reinvest itself," he said.

"The philosophies and the objectives that underpin the Labour Party - and always have - remain.

"They haven't changed in nearly 100 years, but the way we communicate absolutely has to change because society has changed."

He and his campaign team had recognised the need for a new approach locally, he said.

"We ran a very positive campaign for two and a half years but I'll never apologise for the fact that we targeted people who decide elections. We went out there, we found what the issues were and we went hard on them," he said.

"We bucked the trend but there's no secret, it's just real hard work, a passion for the city and standing up for the issues that are important," he said.

Mr Nash, who was a list MP from 2008 to 2011, said his previous parliamentary experience meant he had a good understanding of the work ahead of him.

"I'm just looking to find - and get my feet under - a desk and be the good, hard-working member for Napier."

Mr Nash said he would advocate strongly for those issues voters had identified as important, including opposition to amalgamation and fracking in the region, and a continuation of after-hours medical care in the city.

Mr Nash said given his business background and the needs of the region, he was keen to pick up a role such as being the party's spokesperson on regional economic development.

"For me, growing the Hawke's Bay economy has to be something that underpins everything."

Mr Nash flies to Wellington tonight to begin the task of finding that desk to put his feet under, and attend the party's first caucus meeting tomorrow.

It is a return to the capital that he has been plotting since early 2012.

"When [campaign manager Rob Johnson] and I sat down two and a half years ago, election 2014 seemed a long, long way away," Mr Nash said.

"So to have all the plans work out was very satisfying."