By Dan Satherley and Dylan Moran
Sue Bradford has decided to quit Mana in response to the party's alliance with Kim Dotcom's Internet Party.
She sent a letter of resignation to the leadership late this morning, effective immediately, saying she had lost enthusiasm for Mana and "sucking up to a German millionaire" was not her vision for the party.
"My overwhelming emotion today is sadness," she told 3 News.
"Kim Dotcom is a gamer and it's a big game that he's playing, and I don't want to become his pawn."
Ms Bradford's resignation means this will be the first general election in 15 years the former Green Party MP will not stand as a candidate. But she admits the alliance, known as Internet Mana, may be more attractive to others with political ambitions.
"Some people will probably lose heart and drift away, but some people will probably join because they will be excited," says Ms Bradford
"I think it's a big mistake that a party that prided themselves on having the least becoming part of the same party as an internet mogul."
She plans to stay involved in politics, primarily with Auckland Action Against Poverty.
Ms Bradford's departure is unlikely to come as a surprise, as she had previously expressed unease with the deal when it was first mooted earlier this year.
"I find it incredible that a party with the kaupapa Mana has, should be considering going into an alliance with Kim Dotcom – a man who tried to buy off the right and failed and now he seems to have turned to the left to buy the left off," she said in March, referring to Dotcom's donation to ACT MP John Banks' 2010 mayoralty campaign.
"This is so far from the kaupapa I've dedicated my life to and I find it quite extraordinary."
3 News
source: newshub archive
