Mixed messages over Labour-Green electorate deals or no deals continue, with denials from both Labour and the Greens that there there will be no deal in Nelson.
In the original 1 News report Exclusive: The backroom deals that Labour and the Greens are working on ahead of 2017 election Andrea Vance said:
In Nelson the Greens fell like they can pick up a lot of votes and so they’re in talks with Labour at the moment to stand a Labour candidate aside so that the Greens can have a clear run in that seat in Nelson.
The reason the greens have chosen Nelson is because it’s a classically Green seat. Now they’ll campaign hard in that seat because they’ve been given a chunk of money by an anonymous donor who has specified it must be used in the campaign in Nelson and the West Coast only.
And so Labour found it easy to stand aside because the candidate there would go up against Nick Smith for the electorate vote who’s been there for years and years and years and there’s a strong incumbent.
There is some very specific information there. Someone must have given this to Vance. Metiria Turei and her plans to stand in Te Tai Tonga also featured in that item.
Little responded on 1 News’ Breakfast programme: “This is news to me, we have no agreement on any seat”.
A follow up from 1 News: ‘Bugger that!’ – Labour members leave party over proposed deal with Green Party in Nelson
Eight Labour members have quit the party in protest over a proposed electorate deal with the Greens in Nelson.
One of those who quit said the members had emailed in their resignations – and the reasons – to the party.
“They were eight core people and they’ve walked away. They expected us to help the Greens… we’re not going to work for the Greens, bugger that.”
The ex-member said supporters were unhappy about how they learned about the proposed deal.
“It leaked out at the [annual] conference. One of the candidates was told by Andrew Little… people here are really angry.
But Labour continues to deny any deal in Nelson. Stuff: Labour denies giving Green light for Nelson:
The Labour Party has denied suggestions it is standing aside in Nelson, despite media reports that it is engaging in strategic deals with the Greens ahead of next year’s general election.
Labour general secretary Andrew Kirton said despite an agreement between Labour and the Greens to work together to change the Government there was no such plan for Nelson.
“We have a very strong party in Nelson and that won’t change. I’ve been impressed by how our members have remained committed to winning government next year,” he said.
“This is about how to work together under MMP to change the Government and get the economy working for all New Zealanders.”
A “no such plan for Nelson” denial followed by general poliwaffle.
Greens are also now denying a deal has been done.
Greens co-leader James Shaw said no decisions had been made about any electorate seats, including Nelson. He also said was wrong to suggest that there was any connection between this donation and its candidate selection process in Nelson.
“That is patently incorrect … no decision has been made about the Nelson electorate seat, or any others, and no donation, regardless of its size, will have any bearing on our decision-making process.”
The original report didn’t say a deal had been done, just that Greens were ‘in talks with Labour’, albeit implying it looked likely to happen.
And of particular note is that Shaw is doing the backtracking, not Metiria Turei.
This is a real muddle and doesn’t help Labour and Greens look like a cohesive government-in-waiting.