Blue plate a woeful tale

Ernie Walker's unsold plate. Photo / Christine McKay

A pensioner who has voted Labour all his life has been driving around with a KEY4PM plate fixed to his car for the past six years.

Only one party will ever get 79-year-old Ernie Walker's vote. Its leader doesn't wear a blue tie.

But the former freezing worker, bank manager, postman and now expectant great-grandfather is nothing if not pragmatic.

Walker calls Dannevirke home, but when he saw news footage in 2008 of rising political star John Key arbitrating a dispute between two neighbours in his Helensville electorate he decided he was looking at the next Prime Minister.

And perhaps that could earn himself a little extra coin.

"I thought 'how can I make some money out of the National Party?' That's when I decided to get the plate. It cost me $725. It has been absolutely marvellous, the journey has. People have commented on it a lot. But over the last 12 months the attitude of people has changed."

Banter had switched to personal threats, particularly after he attempted to sell the plate on Trade Me for $5000 last week. No bids were made. "[People] said they are going to axe my car, they're going to key it. There has been filthy language."

So tomorrow Walker plans to remove the plate from his car. He will either donate it to a museum or fix it over a hole in his shed.

He has long given up making a profit on the plate - the best offer he received was $8000 three years ago. The best since? Twenty cents.