Editorial: Labour did Nash no favours

The election delivered just one seismic jolt in Hawke's Bay but it was one that many had predicted and the casualty, as was the case around New Zealand, was Labour.

Actually there were two other casualties in the bailing out of parliament of Labour list MP Stuart Nash and they were the city of Napier and Mr Nash himself.

Napier had unprecedented representation in the last Parliament with two vigorous MPs in National's Chris Tremain and Labour's Mr Nash.

In the end, the Labour Party itself sold Napier short with its relatively low list placing of No 27 for Mr Nash. And so, despite running a spirited local campaign and shredding Mr Tremain's majority from 9018 votes to 3382, Mr Nash has been lost to the electorate.

This sort of result in Napier was always on the cards, although the size of the dent in Mr Tremain's majority will surprise some and Mr Nash has every reason to feel let down.

The great-grandson of former Prime Minister Sir Walter Nash and aged 44, he was seen as a man of the future for Labour and deserved more respect from his own party. In fact, given the trouncing of Labour across New Zealand, he absolutely needed more party support to stand any chance at all.

If Mr Nash does have another tilt for Labour in 2014, do not be surprised if it is not in Napier. He may feel his party owes him a safer electorate.

So, in some respects, Mr Tremain's position may well be more solid than his slimmed-down majority suggests. He is well-respected by National and he and Tukituki MP Craig Foss - returned with a thumping 9032 majority - work closely together "backing the Bay".

What Hawke's Bay will want to see them help deliver in the next three years is regional development. They are now experienced MPs and must use their influence to pull every lever they can to assist economic growth here.

Mr Foss and Mr Tremain deserve our congratulations on their re-election, as do Labour's Parekura Horomia who held Ikaroa-Rawhiti for a fifth term and National's John Hayes who retained Wairarapa.

In the case of Messrs Horomia and Hayes, so vast are their electorates that there remains very real questions as to how effective they will ever be as constituent MPs for Hawke's Bay.