Sutton resigns – Chauvel in

The NZ Herald is reporting that Jim Sutton will be announcing his resignation as an MP today, with Charles Chauvel to replace him from 1 August. This has been long expected.

Jo Goodhew might not forgive me for this, but I’ve always regarded Sutton as one of the better Labour MPs. He didn’t do a bad job for most of his tenure with Agriculture and was a committed free trade supporter. He used to be regarded as an excellent local MP but obviously got out of touch in his last term and the combined impact of school closures, fart tax protests, the speeding motorcade etc combined to create one of the largest electoral oblivion’s in history.

Charles Chauvel will be a welcome addition to the Labour ranks. He is highly regarded as someone seriously smart and politically astute.

He is also an ideal MP from the Labour factional point of view. He is gay, is part PI, and has worked for a union. If he was also female and a lecturer he’s be unbeatable 🙂