Simon Bridges has been announced as the new leader of the National Party.

Mark Mitchell withdrew from the race earler in the day.

The National Party caucus met behind closed doors to elect a new leader with the race between Amy Adams and Simon Bridges said to have been on a knife edge.

The party's caucus of 56 MPs met this morning to elect a new leader from four contenders: Amy Adams, Simon Bridges, Judith Collins and Steven Joyce. Mark Mitchell dropped out this morning.

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The MPs spent yesterday and last night in last-minute lobbying – including of each other – and will each get five minutes to make a pitch to caucus this morning.

Adams and Bridges are expected to be the frontrunners, although Steven Joyce claims he has a chance.

But neither have claimed to have the 29 votes needed in the bag – and sources within their camps are expecting the contest to be extremely close.

It will likely come down to the second choices of the supporters of Joyce and Collins.

The vote will be done in progressive rounds, with the bottom-polling candidate knocked out on each round and their supporters casting their votes for another.

The Adams' camp in particular had assiduously courted the "second" votes of supporters of Mitchell, Joyce and Collins.

However, with some MPs yet to make up their mind things could hinge on the last-ditch speeches the contenders will deliver to caucus this morning - a strong performance could shift the "soft" vote.

The deputy leadership contest is also in the air. While all have said they have made no firm commitments on positions, the leadership contenders are understood to have sounded each other out to assess the appetite for being deputy.

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The most likely combination is Simon Bridges with Paula Bennett as deputy, or Amy Adams with Steven Joyce as deputy.

While it is likely the loser of Bridges and Adams will be offered the deputy role if the vote is close, both are likely to prefer the finance portfolio.

Collins has also said she would consider deputy and she as well as Jonathan Coleman also want finance.

Whatever the outcome, today's vote spells the end of the John Key and Bill English era – an era of unprecedented high popularity for National.

In the pitches today, Joyce is likely to warn National not to put all that at risk by going for a major change. Bridges and Adams too have been cautious about promising a wide-scale shakeup while Collins will be pushing for a more aggressive line in Opposition.

The new leader will be expected to keep polling high and discipline tight – which is not an easy task in Opposition.

None would commit to putting all of their rivals on the front bench but the front-bench posts and plum portfolios will be critical to try to prevent divisions in caucus – MPs such as Collins have made it clear they expect to be on the front bench.

Collins said if she was unsuccessful it would be up to whoever was leader whether she was put on the front bench. "But I would have thought it would be a bit of a waste of my skills.

"Bill English brought me back on to the front bench for a reason and it's been made pretty plain to me by others that we all think very highly of each other's abilities."

While some believed a negotiated outcome would have been tidier, MPs spoken to said they were glad it was going to the full vote, for it meant the leader would be caucus' choice.

Joyce said losing English would be a major change and the focus for the new leader would be ensuring the right combination was in place.

"Irrespective of who wins, one of the challenges for the new leader is to draw the team together and make sure the change is a positive change. The one or two at the top, they carry a lot of the workload."

He would not rule out going for deputy if he was unsuccessful in the leadership.

"Should that not come to pass - and I'm still confident it could - I'm prepared to serve in terms of what the caucus wants."

All candidates have ruled out promising positions for votes in the lead-up to the election – but said they had talked to others about what shape a leadership team might take.

While it is likely they will offer some of their rivals front-bench positions, none would commit to it in advance.

Adams said they were talented and she would use all in the best way possible

Adams said they had been talking to each other but had not made any "deals" or promises in return for votes.

"It's quite natural we are having conversations, as we are with the core people in other peoples' teams because we are all after their first and second preferences and we are talking about how it might shape up. That's a pretty normal and healthy part of what's happening. But it's certainly not at the point of lockdown arrangements in place."

Mark Mitchell, the rookie of the pack, is unlikely to make the leadership team but the contest will have done him no harm. It was a good profile-raising exercise for him and leaves him well-placed for another tilt should today's choice be unsuccessful.

How it works

• National MPs will meet at 10.30 this morning to elect a new leader and deputy leader.

• Four contenders are Amy Adams, Simon Bridges, Judith Collins, Steven Joyce.

• New leader needs support from at least 29 of the 56 MPs.

• Lowest candidate is knocked out in each round of voting.

• MPs vote again until one candidate has at least 29 votes.

• Numbers are not revealed to caucus.</s>The caucus (all elected National Party MPs) gathered in Parliament to vote on the new leader on Tuesday morning. Each of the five candidates made a presentation, and then the vote took place.

To win, a candidate needed at least 29 votes from the 56 National MPs. If there was no outright majority in the first round of voting, the lowest-scoring MPs dropped out and those who voted for them recast their vote.

As Lisa Owen pointed out on Newshub's live TV coverage, due to the way the voting worked, Mr Bridges would have been the second, third, perhaps the fourth choice of some caucus members. He will need to work to unite the caucus behind him.

Simon Bridges' plan

During his first speech as leader of the National Party, Simon Bridges said he has three priorities: Hold the Government to account, be a 'Government in waiting' and modernise the team of MPs.

"We'll support the things we think are taking our country forward, that are making a difference, that are providing opportunity for New Zealanders, and we'll oppose that things that we think are merely seeing us tread water and, in the worst cases, going backwards.

"We'll also be an alternative Government in waiting, with a clear and a positive plan for the 2020s."

"We will continue to modernise and build off [prior] successes so we are a truly compelling choice at the next election. We'll continue to develop our team of MPs and our wider members as the strongest in NZ politics."

Back to haunt him

Members of the public are currently sharing a 2014 Newshub story in which Mr Bridges admitted he didn't know of a forest park that had been opened for oil and gas exploration, despite being the Minister who signed off the plan.

Read the story here:

Speaking of archive footage, there's an incredible Lloyd Burr special from 2016, when the Beehive got new carpets, causing politicians to get non-stop electric shocks. As Simon Bridges explains, it led to Parliamentary services stepping in with a dispatch of dehumidifiers, pot plants, tape around metal door handles and rubber mats to place the feet on under the desk.

"On a daily basis I get shocks in my office - daily basis is actually a minute basis - and it got to a point where I was too scared to touch my doors," Mr Bridges said at the time.

So, who is this Simon Bridges?

Newshub journalist Emma Hurley has put together a backgrounder on the man now leading the National Party:

Congratulations (of a sort) from ACT

ACT leader David Seymour said he's still happy to work in a future coalition with National.

"Simon Bridges will need ACT more than any other National Party leader as voters on the right who value personal freedom will be concerned about his socially conservative views."

"Mr Bridges will find it difficult to criticise Shane Jones’ corporate welfare machine given he was running it until 6 months ago as Economic Development Minister," said Mr Seymour.

And the Greens

The congratulations from the Greens was less pointed.

"Mr Bridges has an opportunity to redefine his party for the future.

"I hope that he takes this opportunity to work constructively across the House on the most important challenges we face together as a country," Green Party co-leader James Shaw said in a statement.

Shades of green

Simon Bridges described himself during the contest as a 'blue-green' candidate.

He says if the Green Party is truly environmental, it will work with National at the next election.

Simon Bridges addresses the nation

Simon Bridges said National should be a 'Government in waiting', implying the party should not drastically remodel itself to suit Opposition.

He said there wouldn't be a major overhaul of National's policies.</s>Tauranga MP Simon Bridges (Ngāti Maniapoto) has been announced the new leader of the National Party.

Bridges is joined by Paula Bennett (Tainui), who remains in the role of Deputy Leader.

A total of 56 National MPs gathered this morning in a caucus meeting to cast their votes on the party leadership.

The five contenders included Bridges, Judith Collins, Steven Joyce, Mark Mitchell and Amy Adams.

Earlier today, Bridges told Te Kāea he was a “proud Māori” and if he was to be made the leader, he hoped it would inspire other Māori.

“I think it’s definitely a part of who I am. It’s a part of what makes me and I hope Māori New Zealanders see that and are excited about that. It shows them that actually they can achieve and they can do interesting things with their lives and there’s a lot of opportunity in this country.”

In the last National-led Government, Bridges held several ministerial portfolios including Labour, Energy, Transport, Communications, Economic Development and Leader of the House.</s>The center-right New Zealand National Party, which governed the country between 2008 and 2017, elected 41-year-old Simon Bridges as its new leader on Tuesday, the party announced on Twitter.

Bridges is a former minister for transport and for economic development.</s>LIVE: Simon Bridges calls Government 'weak and experimental' in first address as National Party leader

The 56-member caucus met for a secret ballot to decide which of the five candidates would be elected as leader this morning.</s>After two ballot rounds, Ngati Maniapoto's Simon Bridges was elected as leader of the National Party and Tainui's Paula Bennett, who had one opponent contesting her position who Bridges would not name, was elected as deputy.

Bridges is the 12th leader of the party but is the first Māori to take the role. It will be the first time two Māori will be at National's helm leading the charge into the next election.

Bridges says "I'm really excited about the opportunity I've got ahead, I hope Māori are proud of me, that the National Party has elected its first Māori leader."

Bennett retains the deputy role, the duo creating a first for Māori and the party leadership, a Tainui-Maniapoto combo.

Bridges says "I hope that Māori who have traditionally been with New Zealand First at times and Labour will give us a second look, will think about us and what we mean and the opportunities we present for Māori.

“I don't think Māori are the same today as they have been in the past. Clearly we are seeing Māori succeed in business both small and large and they are as aspirational as every other New Zealander."

The government have their own thoughts about Bridges and his stance among Māori.

Minister for Forestry Shane Jones says "I don't think they will like him when it comes to the 2020 election."

Minister for Whānau Ora Peeni Henare says, "Māori want to be better off but I'll tell you from what I can see Māori will not make gains with him taking this role."

Minister of Employment Willie Jackson says, "Māori are looking at this very closely, and are suprised- but it is a big honour for him and for Ngāti Maniapoto."

More than 11,500 voters on the Māori Roll gave their party vote to National at last year's election, beating the Greens, but nearly half gave their candidate vote to the Māori Party. Bridges was not yet sure how he would approach this moving forward.

He says "I think it's too early to get into that I couldn't give you a strong answer in terms of how we'd approach that. I'd probably go back to the comments I've made. But we've got two and a half years to think through some of those things.

The party will have a reshuffle of its members over the next fortnight which will combine good strong experience with new talent.

As well as National announcing its new leadership, New Zealand First has elected new Deputy Leader Fletcher Tabuteau who hails from Ngāti Ngararanui, Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Ngāti Whakaue.</s>Questioning Simon Bridges' 'Maoriness' will 'backfire' and he's the 'right choice' to lead National Party, says political commentator

Bryce Edwards says while there would always be tension in a party between different politicians, Mr Bridges and deputy Paula Bennett "do get on".</s>Live stream: Simon Bridges and every MP who contested National’s leadership quiz government during Question Time

In an interesting move, every single person who went for the National Party leadership will ask questions in the House today.</s>Simon Bridges wasn't running away from his socially conservative past on the first morning in the job as new National leader, nor did he deny his views had fundamentally changed. But he insists they won't be his priority.

Since winning the National leadership yesterday, Mr Bridges' opposition to New Zealand's 2013 same-sex marriage bill has been raised as a testament to his conservatism, and a sticking point on whether he would be an inclusive leader.

But Mr Bridges says his vote, if not his outlook on the issue, would now be different.

"I think my argument back then is that we had civil unions, that was working well, marriage is a religious institution rather than a legal one," Mr Bridges said.

"But at the end of the day that's all at the level of gobbledygook. I think what is true is that we've moved on, and I've moved on, and I come back to it - that's not my focus.

"My focus is very much driving New Zealand in the 2020's and how we do that. And I don't think these issues will play a part in that."

Mr Bridges says he now would vote for the same-sex marriage bill having witnessed how it has worked smoothly in the subsequent years.

"Would I change my vote? Actually I would because the reality is it's working really well. I appreciate how important it is to a big section of New Zealand."

The National leader and MP from Tauranga, said what he would be founding his leadership off was the strong economic credentials of their nine years in government.

"When I talk about the party what I'm really saying is, I don't think we got a whole lot of things wrong (in the 2017 election)," Mr Bridges said.

"I think we've got a very strong platform to build off. To state the obvious we got 44.5 per cent at the last election, nearly one in two people supported us.

"They know we're strong economic managers, they get all that. But I think what is true we can't just be talking about what we've done.

"On transport, for example I was one of the most progressive ministers. I moved us heavily into public transport, into rail, into cycleways," he said.

"I lead the biggest resurgence in renewables New Zealand has seen in a very long time, taking us well over 80 per cent of our of our electricity, in terms of renewables."

However, he said his confidence the night before the ballot, having crunched the caucus numbers, led him to have a enjoyable dinner with his wife in Wellington, anticipating a successful result.</s>Political commentator Bryce Edwards say having two Maori at the head of the National Party shows how progressive they have become - but that some have already begun to question how Maori Simon Bridges is.

Speaking this morning to TVNZ1's Breakfast today, Mr Edwards said Mr Bridges and Paula Bennett will be good for the National Party.

Mr Edwards said some people online had begun to question just how Maori Mr Bridges is, which is totally unacceptable.

"There's been a lot of people suggesting he's not really a proper Maori, questioning his Maoriness and I think that won't go down well with the public and I think it will backfire because it's becoming increasingly unacceptable really to question whether someone is Maori or not," Mr Edwards said.

"I think that National does have some potential to pick up some of Maoridom and it does just show that they're modern party, they're a party of inclusiveness and there's just no denying the fact that having two Maori leading the party is a big change for National."

Mr Edwards said he thought while there would always be tension in a party between different politicians, Mr Bridges and Ms Bennett "do get on" - and that they are "pragmatic enough to make it work".

He said there is always a chance that Bridges will lose at the next election, which could mean the end of his political aspiration to become Prime Minister.

Mr Edwards said Mr Bridges has stumbled during interviews and made mistakes, and still looks a bit shaky compared with Jacinda Ardern.

"He hasn't really been that convincing, I think ... I think he's still growing and he needs to learn a lot more, he needs to improve his skills a lot, because throughout this contest I think he's definitely been the right choice for National, but he's shown a lot of weaknesses."

Mr Bridges moving into the top spot could put Steven Joyce "in his place", Mr Edwards said, and it could even lead to Mr Joyce leaving parliament, along with others like Nick Smith who were part of the "old guard" who are associated with John Key and Bill English.
Simon Bridges is elected as leader of the National Party, becoming the first Māori on that position.