Dumping Luxon now would be ‘suicidal’, former National MP warns after poll slump

A former National MP is warning the party against any move to replace Christopher Luxon, saying doing so would be “suicidal” despite falling support in refcent polling.

Anae Arthur Anae told William Terite on Pacific Mornings the party must hold its nerve in the lead-up to the November election, even as pressure builds on National’s leader.

“It’s a pretty terrible result,” Anae says. “But it’s one of those things you’re going to have to put up with and carry it through until the election is over.”

His comments follow last week’s 1News Verian poll, conducted between April 11 and 15, which showed National dropping four points to 30 per cent while Labour rose five points to 37 per cent.

Luxon’s preferred Prime Minister rating also fell four points to 16 per cent, his weakest result since taking over the leadership in November 2021.

Anae, National’s first MP of Pacific heritage, said the party’s problem runs deeper than polling.

Listen to Anae Arthur Anae's full interview below.

He said National had failed to balance economic decisions with everyday pressures facing households, a concern felt strongly across many communities including Pacific families dealing with rising costs.

“Politics in New Zealand and the world basically is a marriage between economics and the social needs of people and what National has done in trying to fill a black hole overnight has really affected the lives of people in New Zealand in a big way.

“That’s where the pressure is coming that they have missed that.”

The latest 1News Verian poll suggests that if an election were held tomorrow, Christopher Luxon’s coalition government would be voted out. Photo/PMN News/Ala Vailala

Anae said there was no obvious alternative leader ready to step in. “I haven’t seen anybody coming through that can pick up the mantle right now.

“It’s a difficult time because they’ve created so much stress and pain out there at the moment so it’s not an easy one to answer.”

Senior National MPs have publicly backed Luxon with campaign chair Simeon Brown saying the party remains united.

“We have a great leader,” Brown told the media at Wellington Airport. “As a caucus, we must come together and work as a team, back our leader and deliver for New Zealanders.”

Luxon did not publicly comment on the poll.

Listen to Marama Davidson's full interview below.

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said the result showed voters were looking for more than a leadership change.

Davidson told Terite: “We are not interested in just kicking out a current prime minister, we are not interested in just kicking out this government.

“We are interested in putting forward a government that really does prioritise the wellbeing of regular people over the wellbeing of the wealthy few, and that means the Greens need to be the strongest influence.”

With the election only months away, National faces a difficult path to rebuild support.

For now, Anae’s message is clear: changing leaders may satisfy short-term pressure but could come at a far greater cost.