The ‘ghost party’ at the centre of a bitter political feud

Sunday, 17 August 2025

A candidate in the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election has revived the name and identity of a defunct political party, drawing accusations of “theft” from its founder.

Kelvyn Alp, a fringe media figure best known as the co-founder of the conspiracy-driven outlet Counterspin Media, is one of five candidates vying for the seat left vacant after the death of Te Pāti Māori’s Takutai Moana ‘Tarsh’ Kemp.

He is running under the banner of New Zealand Loyal, the political party launched by former broadcaster Liz Gunn ahead of the 2023 general election. The party won 1.2% of the vote and was de-registered shortly afterwards.

But the party didn’t stay buried. What followed was a bitter and unusually personal feud over who truly controlled it — a conflict involving insults, accusations of criminality, and two very different visions for the party’s future.

After Gunn had the party de-registered, Alp and his allies moved quickly to revive it. They are using the original name, logo, slogan and colour scheme. They have created a new website and social media accounts, unveiled a similar policy platform, held meetings for members, and adopted a new party constitution.

Meanwhile, Gunn — who has applied to trademark the party’s name, logo, and slogan — has denounced the effort as fraudulent.

“He stole all the information and videos off our website,” she said this week, about Alp.

“He stole the look and logo and colours and name of a party that was officially gazetted as 'closed down'. His using of our IP and hard work amounts to theft… and fraud.”

The accusations have no bearing on Alp’s eligibility to run: In a by-election, a candidate can campaign under the banner of an unregistered political party even if its legal status is contested.

The Electoral Commission confirmed that New Zealand Loyal is not a registered political party, but Alp’s candidacy met all legal requirements. The commission had received a letter from New Zealand Loyal’s secretary confirming him as the nominee.

From allies to adversaries

New Zealand Loyal came together in a hurry. Less than three months before the 2023 general election, Gunn and a small team scrambled to collect the 500 verified members needed to register a political party.

The deadline was tight enough that Alp personally drove the completed membership forms from Auckland to Wellington to ensure they arrived in time.

At the time, Alp and his then partner, Hannah Spierer, were vocal backers of New Zealand Loyal.

In 2022, the pair were arrested and charged over sharing footage of the 2018 terrorist attack on two Christchurch mosques. The trial is ongoing. After their arrest, Gunn came to their defence and helped fundraise for them.

Gunn also appeared on Counterspin Media several times, including while attending the occupation of Parliament’s lawn.

But the once-friendly relationship between Gunn and Alp collapsed. Soon after the election, Gunn surprised supporters by de-registering the party, saying she wanted to shift away from electoral politics and focus on building a broader social movement.

Alp and others accused her of acting unilaterally and breaching the party’s constitution; Gunn argued the party had never officially ratified its constitution, so she was entitled to shut it down.

In any case, what followed was an extended and often personal conflict, conducted largely through social media and duelling online videos.

In one video, Gunn described a “campaign of absolute abuse” directed against her on a Telegram channel associated with Counterspin Media. She has elsewhere described Alp as “evil” and a “brute”.

Alp responded with a two-hour video devoted entirely to the feud, in which he insulted Gunn in crude terms and called for her prosecution.

Each has described the other in ways that are too defamatory to republish. Alp says he has filed a lawsuit against Gunn over alleged financial improprieties related to the party, while Gunn has alleged that Alp stole internal party information while driving the membership forms to Wellington.

Both have denied any wrongdoing.

Resurrection and rivalry

By the end of 2024, Alp and a group of supporters had begun the process of bringing New Zealand Loyal back to life. They appointed an interim board and convened what they described as an Annual General Meeting (AGM) to decide the party’s direction.

At the meeting, which around 50 people attended, Alp was overwhelmingly elected leader. Brenton Faithfull — a funeral director known for promoting unfounded claims linking Covid vaccines to deaths — was named party president.

Gunn called the effort a “fake AGM” for a “ghost party”.

This week, Alp defended his decision to campaign under the New Zealand Loyal banner in light of Gunn’s allegations that he had no right to use the party’s name or identity.

He said the party had been legitimately revived after Gunn’s decision to shut it down.

“This unconstitutional move by Liz doesn't kill the party,“ he said.

“It's still alive as an organisation, and we'll be re-registering with the Electoral Commission.”

He said the party had followed all of the required processes. “We held a special general meeting with full attendance required to proceed - everything was legitimate and documented.”

As for the ongoing feud with Gunn, he pointed to the two-hour video where he “shredded her endless lies”. He said the matter was ultimately a distraction from important issues, referring to it as “pitiful archaeological pursuits”.

Alp claims that he wrote “every single New Zealand Loyal policy” and drafted the speeches Gunn delivered during the campaign.

Gunn contends that Alp wasn’t even technically a member, having not paid the required fees, and was inflating his involvement.

She described him as “one of thousands who volunteered” in the party’s early days.

“We had formed Loyal only 11 weeks out from the election,” she said.

“We accepted help from many quarters that were top quality. Some were the opposite. Alp was in the latter group.”

Even the origin of the party’s name is contested. Gunn says it came to her at 3am one morning; Alp says she was one of six people in the room when another member suggested it.

The public falling-out threatens to overshadow what was already set to be an uphill battle for Alp.

He previously ran for office in 2005 as leader of the Direct Democracy Party, which won 728 votes nationwide. In 2011, he contested the Te Tai Tokerau by-election under the OurNZ banner, finishing last with 72 votes.

New Zealand Loyal, by comparison, was more successful, winning nearly 35,000 votes in 2023. It was the second-most-popular party not to win a seat in Parliament.

By reviving the party she founded, Gunn believes Alp is trying to capitalise on its success, and questioned why he didn’t start a new party in his own name.

“I believe that this most unlikeable man is seeking to benefit by association with someone else to cover for his own patent lack of public appeal,” she said.

“The irony is that he wants to use a name, 'Loyal', when loyalty is not something that his behaviour or understanding seems capable of exhibiting in any way.”

Earlier this year, she warned supporters in a video to steer clear of the revived version of the party she founded.

It made clear the depth of her animosity.

“They would be an absolute political disaster if they ever got in,” she said.

“This is a big call, but I would prefer to be led by Jacinda Ardern.”

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