A household leaflet for a new political party called “New Conservative” turned up in my letterbox.
It’s leader, a Leighton Baker, would have done himself a favour dressed in a suit and tie, and a bigger one still had he used an editor.
In his spectacularly illiterate opening statement he changes tenses from “I” to “we,” then back to “I,” all in the same sentence and also refers to himself in the past tense.
He also writes, “We are a small island nation.” We’re not; we’re the 30th largest out of over 200 nations and we comprise a number of islands.
He refers to “…kiwi’s with skin in the game,” misplacing the apostrophe. Switching tenses again. He writes of himself, “…Leighton is a…practical man that…”. It’s ‘who,’ not ‘that’ Leighton.
That mere circa 100 words opening statement is probably the most illiterate piece of writing I’ve ever seen.
The expressed policies are largely clichés about family values and the like. The exceptions; a demand for state support to be based on need and not gender or ethnicity (read female or maori), a correct assertion that there are only two genders but otherwise all fairly innocuous stuff.
What fascinates me every election is how these new parties, steeped in political naivety, constantly crop up. Two elections back the comical and screamingly naïve Colin Craig launched a Conservative Party and threw plenty of money at it.
It damn near cracked 5%, primarily as it identified a genuine electoral conservative sentiment but in particular, because it attracted a number of respected public names as candidates.
Craig’s exposed spectacular wetness proved its death knell, still, as said, plainly there’s a political market for a conservative Party with what some may describe as old fashioned values. To some extent NZ First shares those perfectly legitimate sentiments, as indeed does the National Party.
I don’t for a minute doubt the sincerity of these constantly emerging new political entities. They commendably reflect our open democracy. But to gain traction they need to offer more than clichés.
What does annoy me are the attention-seeking nobodies and nutters who put their names forward as candidates without policies or purpose, particularly with local body elections.
After the last local body elections I noticed our print media, obviously wilfully, opted not to record their names and miniscule votes in the results. Hopefully that will be a deterrent.
My pick for the coming election is it will be a lot closer than the polls are reflecting. It will be dominated by economic issues and thus see the demise of the Greens.
The big success will be ACT, thanks to its leader being the defacto Opposition this year. I’m picking they will have five or more MPs.
It’s conceivable we could see a repeat of the last election, only in reverse. In other words, Labour outpolling the Nats but add in the new ACT MPs and if Winston gets up, he once again deciding who the government is.
His natural allies are National so who knows? Given his form only an idiot would bet against him cracking 5%.
13 Comments
NZ voters should never forget that a vote for Winston is a vote for labour and the greens The nonsense peddled by the ‘great politician’ that his party is a handbrake on Labour and the Greens is an insult to voter’s intelligence as we know it was Winston who put labour and the greens into power.
Let’s never forget that more people voted for National then voted for the greens and labour combined in 2017, yet Winston in his constant pursuit for the baubles of office ignored YOUR opinions and installed an ill-equipped Prime Minster to lead our great nation.
Fool us once Winston, shame on us. Fool us twice and NZ’s economic future will be consigned more big ‘Taxpayer funded’ spending headlines accompanied with continued rises in: child poverty, suicides, unemployment, gang numbers, and failing businesses!
ACT really does have an opportunity, this election, to define itself. Dare I say it with policy. Act needs to be identified as more than David Seymour, and a bunch of campaign goals which to the vast majority of conservatives, show little difference to what Todd Muller offers. So on ACT’s web page campains include freedom to speak, gun reform, ihumatao, MP’s pay, budget, and taxes. So do NZers really desire a re-branded more right wing National party? OK, ACT your candidates sure do look conservative, predominantly middle class, white people. That not a criticism, just an observation. And ethnicity and colour should not matter. Though the White Lives Matter movement is a whole other discussion. David and ACT would do better, by coming up with some meaningful policy objectives, that conservative NZers can identify with. Not all Labour, NZ First, Green (Weed smokin Communist) party, voters are dead set liberals, leaning far to the left. Many are conservative, though National and ACT offer these swing conservative voters, little in the way of Environmental concerns, pensioners, education. Time to Act?
ACT led by Seymour, have been given a free ride in to parliament to introduce the U.N – Globalist directed legislation that National do not want to be blamed for,. Such as the extreme end of life law {abortion} that has recently been passed.. Sane Minority obviously does not follow politics very closely, or he would realise that The Paris Acord to save the planet was signed while National were in power, & we heard no complaint from ACT when the zero carbon bill was endorsed. Meanwhile the carbon absorbing earth is covered by acres of new housing to cater for the half a million immigrants that the Key led National government bought in to make our G.D.P figures look good. Mean time our local homeless explode in numbers. So ACT as an alternative ? I don’t think so..
Yes, the main outcome will be the complete demise of the Green party. This will be a good thing as it will then be reincarnated as a meaningful party aligned with the centre right rather than a student protest party.
I hope you’re ‘ right’. The crazy tax on wealth they are promoting would cripple many people. What is going to be very interesting is coming up-political debates, and how ardern tries to evade questions on the greens and their mad policies. Labour are going to need the greens, nz first is hopefully dead in the water after peters let his supporters down after the last election.
I am stunned , that you seriously believe NZ first will get near 5% on Election Day. Unless they win the seat in northland, they are are gone for good as a political party
At the last election, Winston betrayed all his voters, by going with labour against an overwhelming vote for the centre right He committed political suicide and at the time I thought it was his last term in government, so he had nothing to lose . If he really believed his voters would trust him enough to vote for him again at this election, then he is totally delusional
Wether or not Winston decided labour would be so grateful that he put them in power, that he would have his way for 3 years, or that Jacinda was an easier person to manipulate, than a experienced Bill English, or more likely that he felt he never got the respect from the national party that he felt he deserved, or all three of the above, it was a one way decision, and the ending of the future of his party
He broke all his bottom line promises, which if we’re legally binding, he would spend the rest of his life in jail There would have been a revolution on the streets in a lot of other countries, such was the feeling of betrayal and treachery felt by both national and NZ first voters, who happened to be about 52% of the population
It is as though at this election, labour win very comfortably the most seats, but need the greens support, and silly old James Shaw opts to put national in power as labour disrespected him and national offer him more of the babbles of power That would be the end of the Green Party, and rightly so , as that’s not what the greens voters wanted.
I truly hope Bob , that you’re correct about the greens not making the 5% percent threshold, but I think they will, and it will be close enough to put labour back in power ,with a huge mandate from the greens manifesto
Wealth taxes and strangling environmental legislation, will mean a grim three years ahead for NZ
It’s a well intentioned party but their leader, Leighton, does not have a good image *as* a leader. A leader needs to look like they could be a CEO – that’s just not Leighton. New Conservative needs to find someone else after the election. Tears ‘n all.
Interesting observations. New Conservatives have good values but won’t go anywhere. My prediction is NZ 1st gone (i’m your idiot) greens will have 3 or 4 MPs, Act 7. The big decider is the main parties. Labour will lose 5% of their support, National will gain 5% so with Act will be the new Government. If you want to wager a chocolate fish says I’m right!
Hear , hear Sir Bob.
The latter part of this blog was largely relevant.
Winston has now we’ll and truly passed his use by date. Yes I know he always confounds the pundits but this time his usual standby issue, immigration is well and truly dead in the water. Mind you who knows, the way things are going he could get some good mileage out of some the expats that are now flooding our shores.
Reminiscent of the witless snake oil saleswoman and cult-of-personality wannabe, Christine Rankin, who was involved with the previous iteration of the Conservative Party, the Colin Craig political vanity project. In the course of explaining the reason for her involvement as Deputy Leader, Rankin reported “I literally died” on learning some of the specific examples of falling national education standards.
No, Christine. Back to school for you to learn the difference between figurative and literal.
The “New Conservative Party” is the same Conservative Party that Colin Craig founded in 2011, and this will in fact be the fourth general election it has contested. Leighton Baker is largely invisible; the real star is Elliot Ikilei.
Yes Sir Bob . Will be very interesting to see how our NZ 1st “Idiot ratio” measures up come rigged election time.
Based on reports from the “left estate” there no idiots in this country as we love our wonderful kind leader….Don Winston-corleone …and his lovely assistant Jocinderella the virtuous left-hand person of comradeship….(grammar assisted by Shane Jones school of colloquial point avoidant-pontificating bullshit ….. because i’m so clever…and your (reader) not…. and it impresses the dumb-arse).
Its great all those working people are continuing to “pay the family” ensuring a fair deal for the working surf…. “Ah yes what loyalty they show …one wonders why they don’t want to stay poor ! “