Alternate lives

Continuing what seems to be a mini-series of considering alternate paths I might have taken, I find myself sat next to the Prime Minister in an airport lounge.

He just left with his diplomatic protection squad in tow. Chris Hipkins is a good man. I had the pleasure of campaigning for him as a local MP back in 2017. Back then, I was also a candidate in the General Election - the year that Jacinda Ardern formed a coalition Government.

Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash

As you may (or may not) know, the MMP style of electoral system gives a larger proportion of seats in the elected Parliament to directly elected candidates, who have a mandate from the people in the geographical electorate they will represent. That is one of the votes that electors can cast. The other is known as the Party vote. You can cast another vote, not for the person, but for the Party you would like to see represent your interests in Parliament.

Electoral maths determines the proportion of Parliamentary seats designated for these ‘List’ candidates once the votes are totaled up.

I was one of those ‘List’ candidates for the Labour Party in 2017. The same Party that Chris Hipkins is now the leader of, and holds legislative and executive power in New Zealand.

I missed out on a seat in Parliament that year, but not by much. I considered my job done though - I wanted to help facilitate a change in Government and that was achieved.

I didn’t run for Parliament again. At the time of running, we had two children. Three years later, we had three - two of them still very young. That didn’t seem like a position that was conducive to me spending all my time away from my family.

So, it’s somewhat coincidental that I find myself sat next to the Prime Minister, just after Sarah and I were reflecting that today marks 4 months until voting begins in the next general election.

The world has changed so much since 2017. I remain convinced that my decision not to run again for Parliament was a good one. As someone, whose opinion I value highly, confided to me early in 2018, “We were rooting for you on the night and disappointed you didn’t get in. But actually we thought it a narrow escape. Don’t do that again”.

Oh, I’m at the airport waiting for a flight to Queenstown to do some work down there tomorrow. I got a text this morning from Air New Zealand telling me that forecast strong winds may mean my flight is canceled. With an hour to go until wheels-up, wish me luck.