NZ Election 2020 - Winners and losers: Chris Luxon a victory for National but Labour flips flood of seats red

The 53rd Parliament has been painted red with Labour scooping up 64 seats which means it brings in a flood of new MPs - but it's not the only party introducing newbies to our halls of power. 

National, despite a crushing loss of seats (it'll get 35 on current results compared to 56 after the 2017 election) will bring in former Air New Zealand boss Chris Luxon as the new Botany MP. 

Luxon, who has been talked up as a potential future National leader, has won the race with almost 4000 more votes than Labour's Naisi Chen. Luxon replaces former National MP Jami Lee Ross, now leader of Advance NZ, who will not make it back. 

Chen will likely make it into Parliament anyway on Labour's list at number 38. Chen will join a string of other Labour candidates who, on the current numbers, will become New Zealand's new MPs - most of them Labour. 

They include Dr Aysha Verrall who is certain to become an MP at number 17 on Labour's list. She's been talked up as a potential new Health Minister, a role she didn't rule out. She's known for reviewing the Government's contact tracing system. 

The same goes for Vanushi Walters, who at number 22 on Labour's list will make it into Parliament. But Walters has won an electorate anyway in Upper Harbour, which had been held by National's former deputy Paula Bennett who is stepping down from politics. 

Former Air New Zealand boss Chris Luxon.
Former Air New Zealand boss Chris Luxon. Photo credit: Getty

Businessman and youth support worker Glen Bennett has won the New Plymouth electorate, ousting National's current MP Jonathan Young. 

Labour has also won the Ōtaki electorate with Terisa Ngobi - who has worked for over 15 years in social service roles across the public sector - picking it up from National's Tim Costley. 

Labour has also won Hamilton West from National's Tim Macindoe. Labour's candidate Gaurav Sharma - who has worked in public health, policy and consulting - has turned the seat red. 

Dr Ayesha Verrall.
Dr Ayesha Verrall. Photo credit: Labour
Gaurav Sharma.
Gaurav Sharma. Photo credit: Labour

National's deputy leader Gerry Brownlee has lost his Ilam seat to Labour's Sarah Pallett, who has experience as a midwife. Brownlee has held the electorate since 1996 - a big loss for National. 

Another Labour newbie, Ingrid Leary will be the MP for the new electorate Taieri, which has drawn together urban Dunedin South with parts of rural South Otago. Leary has experience in law, journalism, and public service.

Arena Williams is another victorious Labour candidate in the Manurewa electorate. She was involved in student politics and was a candidate for Labour in Hunua in 2014. The seat is currently held by Labour's Louisa Wall who is going on the list after she withdrew her nomination. 

Arena Williams.
Arena Williams. Photo credit: Labour

Nelson, which has been held by National MP Nick Smith since 1996, is another seat going to Labour. Rachel Boyack will be the new MP - the first female for the electorate. She is chair of Labour's Policy Council. 

Whanganui is another National seat turning red. It's currently held by Harete Hipango, but it'll now go to Steph Lewis, who co-chairs Labour's Economic Development Committee, where she helps develop policies. 

Tracey McLellan, the Senior Vice President of the Labour Party, will be MP for Banks Peninsula, an electorate which initially existed from 1996 to 2008, and was later recreated in 2020 ahead of the election. 

Tracey McLellan.
Tracey McLellan. Photo credit: Labour

Takanini, a completely new electorate being contested for the first time, will be held by Labour's Neru Leavasa, a small business owner. He has also served in rural farming communities as a GP.

Shanan Halbert, who served over 15 years in education leadership and management at tertiary institutions, will be MP for Northcote, which is currently held by National's Dan Bidois. 

The Mana electorate has also been picked up for Labour by Barbara Edmonds, a member of the Board of Trustees for Mana College. The seat is currently held by Labour's Kris Faafoi, who announced he will go on the list. 

Barbara Edmonds.
Barbara Edmonds. Photo credit: Labour

Ginny Andersen, currently a Labour list MP, will become the new MP for Hutt South, ousting National's Chris Bishop who has campaigned hard to keep it. The seat was held for a long time by Labour's Trevor Mallard. 

ACT is the other big winner. It only secured one seat - leader David Seymour kept Epsom - but with its party vote way up from the last election, it'll bring in nine new MPs. 

The most notable are ACT deputy leader Brooke van Velden, who helped get the End of Life Choice Act across the line behind the scenes in Parliament. There's also Nicole McKee, a vocal supporter of gun rights. 

ACT deputy leader Brooke van Velden with leader David Seymour.
ACT deputy leader Brooke van Velden with leader David Seymour. Photo credit: Getty
Nicole McKee.
Nicole McKee. Photo credit: The AM Show

The Greens have had a major victory with MP Chloe Swarbrick winning Auckland Central - the first time the Greens have won an electorate since 1999 when former co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons won Coromandel. 

The Greens will get three new MPs (because MP Gareth Hughes has stepped down). They'll bring in veteran activist Teanau Tuiono, LGBT activist Dr Elizabeth Kerekere and Auckland Action Against Poverty's Ricardo Menéndez March. 

National has had some wins, such as Simon Watts, who has won North Shore and kept it blue after incumbent Maggie Barry stepped down from politics. 

Ricardo Menendez March.
Ricardo Menendez March. Photo credit: The AM Show
Simon Watts.
Simon Watts. Photo credit: National

Penny Simmonds, the chief executive of The Southern Institute of Technology, has also kept Invercargill blue after National MP Sarah Dowie announced her retirement from politics. 

Joseph Mooney is another winner for National. He has kept Southland blue, despite the former MP Hamish Walker stepping down after leaking private COVID-19 patient data to the press earlier this year. 

Selwyn has also been kept blue by Nicola Grigg. She takes over from National's Amy Adams, who resigned from politics but un-resigned to work under former leader Todd Muller. When he stepped down, Adams resigned again. 

Nicola Grigg.
Nicola Grigg. Photo credit: Suppled

The final winner could be the Māori Party in Waiariki - but it's very close. It looks like Rawiri Waititi could win it from Labour's Tamati Coffey. 

How Parliament will look

The Electoral Commission still needs to count special votes - that's people who have voted from overseas and those who registered to vote on the day. 

But it's pretty safe to say that Labour is victorious. It's on 49 percent meaning it will get 64 seats in Parliament - that's three more than it needs for a majority to govern alone. 

National gets 27 percent and 35 seats, ACT gets 8 percent and 10 seats, the Greens get 7.5 percent and 10 seats, and the Māori Party gets its one seat if it wins Waiariki.