New Zealand election 2023: Labour’s Chris Hipkins concedes to centre-right National party

New Zealand Labour leader Chris Hipkins has conceded that his party has lost the election, after a surge in support for the centre-right National party delivered what analysts described as a “bloodbath” for the government.

Speaking at an election night event in Wellington on Saturday night, Hipkins - who became Labour leader in January after Jacinda Ardern’s surprise resignation – said he had called the opposition leader Christopher Luxon to congratulate him on the results.

“As it stands Labour is not in a position to form another government,” he said. “The result is not one any of us wanted.”

New Zealand’s election results showed a drastic swing to the right, with a coalition of the centre-right National and libertarian Act parties on the edge of drawing enough support to govern. The only remaining question was whether would be forced to bring a third party – populist New Zealand First – into their governing deal.

Taking the stage at National’s election event in Auckland, Luxon said National and Act would form the next government. He also congratulated New Zealand First leader Winston Peters on his party’s return to parliament, leaving the possibility of the populist party joining the coalition on the table.

To cheers of “we won!”, Luxon said National would rebuild the economy, bring down the cost of living and restore law and order.

National won because it listened to the nation, Luxon said. “You have given us the mandate to take New Zealand forward”, he said.

The results were a forceful rejection of centre-left Labour as voters punished the governing party from both the right and the left.

With more than 80% of the votes counted, the centre-right National party, led by Chris Luxon, was predicted to gain 50 seats. With Act’s predicted 12, and New Zealand First’s 8, that would comfortably give the right bloc 70 seats – eight more than the 61 needed to meet the threshold to govern.

New Zealand’s shift to the right ends Labour’s six years in office, which oversaw the Covid-19 pandemic, the Christchurch mosque attacks and the Whakaari volcano eruption, and would firmly draw a line under Jacinda Ardern’s era of politics.

It is an extraordinary change in fortune for the party, which in 2020 – then under Ardern’s leadership – was voted into power in a landslide, giving it the biggest mandate in nearly 30 years.

But the country has revealed its mood for change in the years since that historic victory. The rising cost of living and post-pandemic malaise has translated into dissatisfaction with the political status quo, and the party’s leader, Chris Hipkins failed to amass the extraordinary popularity of his predecessor, Ardern, who resigned as prime minister in January.

Former political editor at news outlet Stuff, Henry Cooke, has called it “a nightmare result” and a “bloodbath” for Labour, who are bleeding seats to both National and the Green party.

“In several Auckland safe seats Labour are behind National after the Greens ran a fairly strong campaign in some of the seats – and National did very well.”

Opinion polls in the lead up to the election had the populist minor party New Zealand First once again in the kingmaker position, and there is reasonable chance National and Act will still need them.

Peters remained optimistic when speaking to his party-faithful at his election night event.

“When New Zealand First said a few years ago that we were going to make a comeback, they all laughed at us – they’re not laughing now are they?”