Christopher Luxon says he has caucus behind him, and would win an election if held today
Friday, 17 April 2026
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he isn’t expecting a leadership vote at next week’s caucus meeting and he has the full confidence of his caucus.
In a testy six-minute press conference Luxon said he hadn’t rung around to check but he was confident his caucus backed him as he talked to them all the time, and noted that public polls indicated his coalition government would be re-elected if an election was held today.
His statement came after a rumour within National circles came to light concerning Luxon “ghosting” the party’s whip, Stuart Smith, who - according to the rumour - had bad news about caucus support to share with Luxon a fortnight ago, but could not get a meeting.
Taking questions from reporters this afternoon, Luxon denied avoiding Smith.
“I was with Stuart all day Tuesday and it was not raised.”
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The NZ Herald reported on the rumour on Thursday, citing party sources.
One of the main roles of a party whip is to act as a bridge between the leader and the backbench, and some believe that if Smith had actually met with Luxon he would have been forced to hold a caucus meeting and potentially even conduct a vote on his leadership.
A National source told The Post they had heard a similar rumour but could not confirm its veracity.
Two versions appear to be circulating - one where Smith simply wanted to warn Luxon some in the caucus were unhappy and another where it was suggested Luxon did not have the numbers to stay on.
Smith has been asked for comment.
Senior Minister Chris Bishop, widely-speculated to be the strongest contender to replace Luxon, said on an appearance on Newstalk ZB he was not plotting anything.
But he said everyone in the party was keen for National to perform better. The party dipped below 30% in another opinion poll on Thursday night.
“There's no coup happening,” Bishop said. “Every now and then articles like that appear. It's untidy and unhelpful.”
Asked by host Mike Hosking if anyone was “agitating for Luxon to fall”, Bishop responded: “I think it would be fair to say that everyone wants us to do better. I think that's a statement of reality […] People want us to do better, and I know the Prime Minister wants us to do better as well.”
He said the notion of Smith attempting to contact Luxon was “news to him”.