Resigned from The Party

·

No longer a member of the National Party

 

Well the announcement on Twitter certainly lit the place up yesterday and this morning. Never thought it would garner the response it did but it did.

Yesterday I had decided that after 11 years of membership I will no longer be a National Party member. The email when to National HQ in Wellington this morning stating that I have left the organisation as a Party member.

The email simply said:

I wish to inform the National Party that after being a member since 2003 I will be resigning my membership to the Party effective immediately
While it has been an adventure and I have met many new people along the way over the last 11 years I feel that the Party no longer presents my Social Liberal values nor is represents a Party that champions the Common Good.
The Hager saga has also shown National to be lacking in the skills required to navigate through a stormy patch that do come up from time to time.
The Prime Minister, and the Hon Judith Collins acting in obfuscation, stretching the truth and belittling the intelligence of the populace through their handling of the situation has also been a catalyst for me leaving the Party.
Until such time National is more in line with my own values of Social Liberalism and the Common Good, as well as Collins no longer being an MP I will remain a political freelancer, my vote always that of a Swing voter.
Despite the mess National has gotten itself in I wish no ill upon members and MP’s who do the hard yards out in the electorates. Sadly a few bad apples ruin it for everyone else.
Thus I wish the Party all the best into the future and in acknowledgement that we might meet up again some day. I do point out I have no desire in joining any other Party either.
All the best to the campaign
And thank you for the last 11 years.
With Kind Regards

 

So I am a political freelancer, my vote a swing vote at Central Level.

And the end of the day there is no point being part of a Political Party that does not line up with your own values (nor morals). Sadly a few bad apples ruined it and the rest is now as they say – history.

However this does not end my political involvement in any way. Well it does at Central Level as I step back but at Local Level I will still be definitely around (I can hear Auckland Transport saying “nuts” from here 😉 ). My affiliations at Auckland Council level do not change – that is I am still a supporter of the Deputy Mayor. But for now I take a break from Central Politics and turn all attention towards Auckland’s politics.

The blog will still be here, the posts and commentary will still be here, the pressers will still be posted when they come, the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request still filed, the presentations and live tweetings out of Committees continue. 

 

As I said in the email though, I do wish the Party all the best in the future and in acknowledgement that we might meet up again one day.

 

WAKEFIELD AT WASHINGTON: The New Zealand Founding Father Who Set Fire to the White House

·

Interesting story and fate for one of Nelson’s founding fathers who was in the end killed by a feared Maori Chief. Prior to his death this founding father would be part of the Royal Navy force that captured Washington DC and razed the White House in 1814

Lemuel's avatarHistory Geek

The destruction of the White House is a scene most commonly associated with fictional alien invasions or terrorist plots on the big screen, but today marks two hundred years since an enemy force marched on Washington and set fire to the famous residence. This is the relatively unknown yet remarkable story of how one of the junior officers in the force that torched the White House went on to become the founding father of one of New Zealand’s earliest settlements and ultimately met his fate during a skirmish with one of the most revered and feared of all Māori chiefs – Te Rauparaha.

Arthur Wakefield was only ten years old when he joined the Royal Navy in May 1810. The British had enjoyed naval supremacy since their famous victory at Trafalgar, less than five years earlier, but the fate of Europe was still uncertain with Napoleon’s armies waging war across…

View original post 3,066 more words

Poll of Polls update – 20 August 2014

·

I am keeping an eye on the central Elections seeming they dominate my Twitter feed as is at the moment. For me I am keeping a close eye on the “Government (or Economy) is heading in the right direction” numbers as they can give an insight to more deeper down feelings of the electorate.

Put it this way while some consider that particular aspect to the realm of Political Junkie or Wankery status, no government has survived rather long when that Right Direction number hits below 50 and sits that way for a sustained period.

For National’s sake that 7 point drop in that particular aspect better be the last…

jononatusch's avatarOccasionally Erudite Publications

The latest Roy Morgan poll has just been released. The polling window runs from 4 August to 17 August, meaning that been a quarter and a third of the polling was done following the release of Nicky Hager’s Dirty Politics book. We’ll need to wait for further polling before the real impact of the book and its fallout can be seen.

The results of the Roy Morgan will undoubtedly be somewhat of a disappointment for Labour and the Greens. National is up 2% to 48%, while on the left, Labour drops 2.5% to 27.5%, and the Greens drop 0.5% to 11.5%. That’s a 9% gap between National and a Labour/Greens bloc.

The big mover of the minor parties is NZ First, up 1.5% to 6.5%. That’s the highest they’ve been in the Roy Morgan since September 2013, and it’s the party’s second highest poll result this year from any of…

View original post 215 more words