A Mt Albert upset

One News reports:

Helen White has been selected as the Labour candidate for Mt Albert, beating out her caucus colleague Camilla Belich.

Belich was considered the favourite of the Labour establishment, walking into the selection meeting with former Prime Minister and the outgoing MP for Mt Albert Jacinda Ardern.

This is a huge upset. Belich had the support of Chris Hipkins, Labour Head Office, Jacinda Ardern and Helen Clark. Belich is widely regarded as a future front bencher, while White is not.

This will make list ranking harder for Labour. They already are looking to lose between 15 to 20 MPs and having less regarded MPs in safe seats mean they have fewer spots available for MPs like Belich who they want to keep.

The outcome in Christchurch East also contributes to this with List MP Dan Rosewarne using the selection to a local community board member. This means again more List MPs competing for fewer spots.