“They hated what had happened. They hated that National had made some of those choices.”

National MP Vanessa Weenink has delivered a frank account of the anger directed at her party during the election campaign, revealing voters shouted abuse from passing cars and accused National of abandoning the values it once represented.

In an interview with Chris Lynch, the Banks Peninsula MP described widespread disappointment among constituents who believed the party had allowed its coalition partners to drag it too far to the right.

“People who understood and knew National of old felt disappointed and let down,” she said.

Some accepted that the direction appeared to be coming from ACT and New Zealand First, but questioned why National had failed to resist.

Weenink said the criticism extended beyond individual policies, reflecting a broader dissatisfaction with the government’s political direction.

She was careful to distinguish the feedback from the views of National Party members and committed conservative voters, saying Banks Peninsula was a predominantly left leaning and centrist electorate.

But her comments offer an uncomfortable assessment of how National was perceived in a seat it won from Labour just three years ago.

One of the most difficult issues, she said, was the Treaty Principles Bill, which National agreed to support through its first reading as part of its coalition arrangement with ACT.

“Even having to have it discussed was difficult.”

Weenink described the legislation as divisive and questioned why the government had spent time debating it when New Zealand faced pressing economic, health and education problems.

“I personally thought that it was … not relevant to the problems that we really face in the country.”

She stressed that National had not acted against the Treaty of Waitangi and that the bill ultimately failed to become law.

However, the political damage among some voters appeared to have already been done.

She was also challenged over whether Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had misread public sentiment by agreeing to policies that risked alienating National’s traditional supporters.

“That’s your appraisal, and I can understand why you think that. And many people might say that.”

She then delivered a pointed response. “You might very well think so, but I couldn’t possibly comment.”

Despite the remark, Weenink repeatedly insisted she was not personally criticising Luxon and was instead relaying what constituents had told her.

Her comments come after Labour’s Tracey McLellan overtook her in Banks Peninsula, securing 19,216 votes against Weenink’s 16,955 in the preliminary election count.

The 2,261 vote margin remains subject to the official count, with special votes still to be included.

Weenink was also pressed about National’s national advertising campaign, including its attacks on Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick and its use of artificial intelligence material targeting Labour leader Chris Hipkins.

Rather than defend the approach, she suggested some criticism could be justified, although she declined to elaborate. “I wouldn’t say a bad word about it, even if I think them.”

She said party staff and volunteers had worked exceptionally hard and deserved recognition for their efforts. The outgoing MP also revealed some of the personal hostility she had experienced during her parliamentary career.

She claimed she had been barred from Lyttelton Coffee Co. because of her National Party affiliation, describing the experience as particularly upsetting.

“That really pissed me off,” she said. Weenink also recalled protesters gathering outside her home on Easter Sunday over the conflict in Palestine.

She said the treatment of politicians, both publicly and behind their backs, had been among the least enjoyable aspects of representing an electorate.

The former general practitioner questioned aspects of New Zealand’s MMP electoral system, particularly whether MPs who had never won an electorate should be eligible to become ministers.

She said it was worth examining whether the system provided sufficient scrutiny of people entering Parliament, while acknowledging proportional representation had improved diversity, including the number of women elected.

“We should look for ways to strengthen our democracy,” she said.

Weenink also expressed frustration over the three week wait for official election results.

“Why the f does it take the Electoral Commission three weeks to count 400,000 special votes? What the hell?”

She argued the uncertainty had consequences beyond politics, with businesses delaying hiring and investment decisions until they knew which parties would form the next government.

The Electoral Commission is scheduled to release the official results on 27 November.

As for her own future, Weenink said she was considering returning to general practice, although she remained concerned about the pressures facing the health system.

She also hoped to remain involved with National despite her disappointment over the election.

“Hopefully, I haven’t said too many things to upset the National Party today because I love them all dearly, and I want to stay in the National Party and continue to make a contribution there as well.”

And when Lynch asked whether Christopher Luxon would still be Prime Minister in a year’s time, her response was unequivocal.

“Absolutely.”