David Shearer steps down

(Xinhua)

Labour Party leader David Shearer resigned as the party leader on today.

In a short statement, Shearer said he had lost the confidence of a number of Members of Parliament (MPs) and was stepping down.

He said the party’s polling had not lifted as much as they had hoped and there would be a clean change and a new leader chosen.

He said there was no letter asking him to go nor a non- confidence vote.

The Mt Albert MP said he would stay on as a Member of Parliament.

Shearer, 56, was elected to Parliament at a by-election in 2009 and became party leader in 2011.

He previously worked for the United Nations for almost 20 years.

The Labour Party will now start the process for a new leader to be determined. The election process is expected to take three to four weeks.