Seymour Points Out that National's Lack of Conservatism

December 20, 2022

He’s concerned National will “babysit” the Labour Party’s ideas, and insists ACT’s role will be ensuring promises to repeal Three Waters and the Māori Health Authority come to bear.

“The lesson from history is crystal clear right from Sid Holland in 1949; he said Labour were applying socialism, destroying the country and then got in and didn’t change a thing. That’s happened another four times with Holyoake in 1960, Muldoon in 1975, Bolger in 1990 and Key in 2008.”

Seymour has appeared more willing to criticise National’s leader Christopher Luxon this year, and now says ACT is needed to hold them to the right of the political spectrum.

“There’s so far nothing to indicate that Chris Luxon will be anything different from the last five incoming National prime ministers who’ve said a lot of very aggressive things about Labour’s policies - but also kept Labour’s politics. The reason you vote ACT is that you don’t think that’s going to be good enough this time,” he says.

“I just make the point that he is, we hope, an incoming National Party prime minister and the last five of them have been utterly consistent in campaigning from the right and governing from the left. ACT is the circuit breaker to that pattern.”

In October, Seymour said redefining the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and putting them to a public and binding referendum would be a bottom line in any governing negotiations.