Editorial: MPs can now focus on Bay

Napier MP Stuart Nash.

There has been no better example of the fluctuating fortunes of politicians than right here in the Bay.

We all witnessed the triumph of the winners and noted how quickly the vanquished disappeared from public.

Labour's Stuart Nash has been riding high after his successful reclamation of Napier as a Labour seat. There seemed to be no limit to what he could do and it was not surprising when his name started being bandied about as a potential successor to David Cunliffe.

Thankfully, he has decided not to chase the leadership of the Labour Party, but instead to focus on his role as an electorate MP.

Interestingly, a little online poll we are running on our website showed last night that about 51 per cent of those who responded felt that Mr Nash was not ready to be leader now, but maybe later. A further 37 per cent felt he should focus on Napier instead.

While Mr Nash has been experiencing the warm glow of victory, National's Tukituki MP Craig Foss' joy at winning a hard-fought campaign has been replaced by the disappointment of being dropped from Prime Minister John Key's cabinet. While Mr Foss is still a minister, with the portfolios of Small Business, Statistics and Veterans' Affairs, he is not in the 20-person cabinet.

He is probably as much a victim of Mr Key's need to rejuvenate the cabinet as anything else, but either way it could be a blessing in disguise for the Bay.

Mr Nash's reaction to Mr Foss's demotion was interesting, because instead of putting the boot in, he spoke of the two MPS working together to better the region.

That would be good.