Internet Party secretary and communications director Sarah Illingworth resigns

Sarah Illingworth. Photo / Supplied

The Internet Party's communications director and party secretary has resigned, citing several "blocks" which she says have made it difficult to perform her job.

Sarah Illingworth, a freelance journalist and editor of news blog website Impolitikal, said she resigned from the party on July 7.

"I resigned from my dual role as Internet Party communications director and party secretary, due to a number of blocks that made it difficult for me to do my job to a standard I would have liked," Illingworth said in a statement this morning.

"I wish Suzie and the rest of the campaign team well."

Illingworth, who is currently based in Manchester, later told the Herald she did not wish to comment further.

"The rest of the campaign team are working hard and deserve a clear shot at the finish line," she said.

Her resignation comes a little more than two months out from the election. On May 26 she said in a Twitter post that she had been named the party's communications director.

Jo Booth has been named as the new party secretary for Kim Dotcom's political venture, which contested the 2014 General Election alongside Mana Movement.

Dotcom told the Herald he did not wish to comment as he was no longer on the executive board of the party and directed any questions to party leader Suzie Dawson.

Dotcom, the party's founder, resigned from the executive committee in February and has not been a member of either the policy or campaign committees.

The Herald has approached the Internet Party for comment.

A note to say that on July 7 I resigned from the Internet Party due to a number of blocks that made it difficult for me to do my job.

— Sarah Illingworth (@__illingworth) July 15, 2017

Last month the Herald revealed the Internet Party's new leader was Dawson, an activist and citizen journalist who is living in self-imposed exile in Moscow.

She has been seeking temporary asylum in Russia since late last year, after claiming she was severely harassed and her family threatened by the Government after reporting on the GCSB's spying on New Zealanders, including Dotcom.

The 36-year-old, who has been involved in the Occupy New Zealand movement, has been an outspoken supporter of Wikileaks and whistleblowers Julian Assange and Edward Snowden.

In an exclusive interview with the Herald last month she said it was a "huge surprise" to be asked in January to consider the leadership position for September's general election.

"I had never considered entering politics. But the more I examined the idea, the clearer the synergies were."

Dawson said she views the party as part of a wider global trend and a movement towards the future of governance and that Dotcom was not involved in this year's campaign.

"Kim was not involved in designing the strategic or tactical planning for the 2017 campaign, nor is he involved in its implementation. While the original vision for the party was his, he never reigned over it with an iron fist as some like to fantasise," Dawson said.