Labour MP Kieran McAnulty received a few cheeky surprises with his pizza after placing an order following his victory in the Wairarapa electorate. Photo / Kieran McAnulty / Twitter
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty received a few cheeky surprises with his pizza after placing an order following his victory in the Wairarapa electorate. Photo / Kieran McAnulty / Twitter
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty received a few cheeky surprises with his pizza after placing an order following his victory in the Wairarapa electorate.
On Sunday, McAnulty ordered a range of pizzas from Hell Pizza Masterton to celebrate.
But when he opened his pizza he was met with a series of messages written on the box celebrating his victory, one which included a not so subtle dig at National.
Taking to Twitter, McAnulty said he "was left a few messages with dinner tonight".
McAnulty's tweet has since received more than a thousand likes, with people lining up to congratulate him.
"Man of the people, clearly. Congrats on your win," one said.
Another added: "Passed your first test, you know good pizza! congrats again on the win, well deserved. Got my vote!"
But not all were happy with Hell Pizza and McAnulty.
Some took aim at McAnulty, claiming he used taxpayers money to fund dinner, while another criticised Hell Pizza for the messages.
"Dear me, Aunty and Uncle it's just creepy and from Hell's Pizza yet...shudder," a disgruntled follower wrote.
A second claimed: "Enjoy your tax payer paid pizza when a lot of your voters can't even afford a $5 pizza hutt special let alone a gourmet hell pizza."
Hell Pizza has responded to the messages, saying they are proud of the enthusistic staff and described the messages as "light-hearted fun".
"HELL does not discriminate - we welcome all souls through our gates regardless of their beliefs and affiliations," a spokesperson told the Herald.
"We've obviously got some enthusiastic staff at our Masterton store who wanted to put a personal touch on Keiran McAnulty's order – a bit of light-hearted fun on a busy night."
Kieran McAnulty's victory celebrations in Masterton. Photo / Wairarapa Times Age
McAnulty was victorious in the electorate, winning 19,519 votes compared to National candidate Mike Butterick's 14,108.
The last time Wairarapa swung left was when Georgina Beyer held the seat from 1999 to 2005, but electorate boundaries have since extended north to include the likes of Dannevirke, Waipukurau and even Waipawa.
In McAnulty's speech, he said that the death of his beloved grandmother Betty McAnulty, 85, two weeks ago was a difficult blow during the campaign.
"I would do anything to have her here to see my win tonight, I have wanted this for a long time for my hometown and for my friends and family and supporters," he said.
"To my parents Marie and Mike, thank you for your love and support, it has been wonderful to know you are there for me, I have wanted this job since I was a boy.
He never thought Labour would be in the position to win the candidate vote and party vote as well but he did soak up the support on the trail and felt things could be turning towards that.
"I am grateful and thankful for the level of trust in me to represent the community," he said.
"There has not been a Wairarapa MP with the level of influence I can bring to government for a long time. I am determined to deliver for the region."
