Education Minister Erica Stanford fires back at team player critique after survey ranks her top

Education Minister Erica Stanford has clapped back at criticism that she’s not a team player, calling the comments “weird” and “rough”.

Stanford said being named as the top-ranked minister in the 2025 Mood of the Boardroom survey put a “giant target on her back” after an appraisal regarded her as more popular outside the National caucus than inside.

In survey results revealed by the Herald this week, 55% of respondents rated Stanford’s ministerial performance as “very impressive”, up from 37% in last year’s survey.

Commenting on the survey, Herald senior political correspondent Audrey Young singled out Stanford for her “superb job” as Education Minister but noted she did not delegate well, resulting in her not being popular among fellow ministers.

She said there was a “world of difference” between a good Education Minister and good leader, and Stanford was not a team player.

Stanford responded to the claims during a panel with Labour’s Willie Jackson, telling Herald NOW’s Michael Morrah that Young’s comments were “weird”.

“Well, I’m the Minister of Education. How would I delegate responsibilities to my caucus colleagues? I mean, it’s a bit of a weird thing to say.”

She said she understands there was now a “giant target on her back” but her focus was on what she was “passionate” about.

“This is what happens, right? The giant target is now painted on my back and I see Audrey’s gone straight in for it.

“It’s a bit rough.”

She repeated comments about not gunning for the Prime Minister’s job even though she was ranked by business leaders as the most popular minister, commending leader Christopher Luxon on his work.

“Can I just say, if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be as successful as I am. He has put me on an extremely long leash.

“He backs me 100%. What you don’t see behind the scenes is the incredible support that he gives me and all of the other ministers to do our job successfully.”

The survey left scathing reviews of National’s leaders, including Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis, who failed to make the top 10.

Second-ranked Winston Peters’ work as Foreign Affairs Minister was rated “very impressive” by 23%. Other Cabinet Ministers whose work was seen as “very impressive” included: Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop (18%), Trade Minister Todd McClay (21%), Health Minister Simeon Brown (15%), Mark Mitchell (12%), Defence Minister Judith Collins (11%) and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones (12%).

Act leader David Seymour, at 3.18/5, sat just outside the top 10 ministers.