Nash vows to stick with Labour

IN LABOUR: A giant billboard fronting a Napier corner store signals Stuart Nash's intention to continue delivering for the people of Napier. PHOTO/WARREN BUCKLAND

Napier MP Stuart Nash has no plans to ditch an apparently struggling Labour Party and says that's how it will be at least as long as he is in politics.

The pledge to Hawke's Bay Today came yesterday after midweek conjecture he could be another target for the governing National Party, in the wake of the red-to-blue party-hopping of former Porirua mayor Nick Leggett and suggestions that along with continued sub-30pts results in opinion polls it could spell the beginning of the end for Labour.

Sometimes touted as a future Labour Party leader, but also having in the past been linked to some interest in forming another left party, Mr Nash is understood to be the only nominee for the Labour candidacy in Napier in next year's general election, and is expected to be confirmed by mid-February for a crack at what would be a third term - one as a list MP in 2008-2011 and the other as MP for Napier since 2014.

Yesterday, it was a positive Nash fronting seven street-corner meetings in Wairoa, the day after Labour scored a big win in the Mt Roskill byelection.

While Labour's Michael Wood was always expected to win the safe Mt Roskill seat, vacated by Phil Goff after his election as mayor of Auckland, Labour's claim to two-thirds of all votes was well beyond the party's hopes.

Commenting on the conjecture, Mr Nash said yesterday: "I've been linked to every party except the Greens. I'm not going to National, and the truth is I'm happy where I am.

"If an MP was to just party-hop like that it would really be seen as just self-serving. That's not what I'm here for."

But he didn't shy away from the job the Labour Party has to remain one of the two major election combatants, with polls revealing support as low as 23 per cent which if transposed into an election-night result which would see the party losing more seats on the big night 11-12 months hence.

"We have got a lot of work to put in over the next year," he said. And he believes that in targeting education, health, housing, jobs and safer communities Labour will be ready to win back the role of Government it lost when brand John Key swept into office in 2008.

As party law and order spokesman he's already moving, with Labour's proposal for a thousand more police officers, but he says other policies will unfold early in the new year.

Nomination's for National's Napier candidacy open today and close on January 27.