Abstract:
Sir Keith Holyoake, New Zealand Prime Minister from 1960 to 1972, famously
counselled first-term Members of Parliament to ‘breathe through their noses’,
suggesting that it was in their best interests to keep their heads down and
mouths shut. Perhaps this recommendation is instrumental in the low profile of
first-term MPs in New Zealand and the subsequent dearth of information
available about these individuals.
Within political science, scholarly attention has tended to focus on the ‘power
holders’ – senior leaders and those perceived to have the most influence. In
New Zealand, this has resulted in a growing field of literature about prime
ministers, party leaders, and the few parliamentarians who reach cabinet. This
thesis steps back from power holders to shed light on new MPs.
It is important to know who new MPs are. Within parliamentary systems MPs
often serve long apprenticeships before being promoted to the senior positions
of their party and government. Thus MPs who enter parliament today may hold
significant influence in the future. However, very little is known about
legislators when they enter parliament. Do all Members of Parliament wish to
become ministers or prime ministers, or do they have more modest aspirations,
such as being the best local MP they possibly can? By understanding the
motivations of our neophyte politicians we can better understand the types of
people who are likely to become significant political actors in the future.
This study aims to understand how and why individuals become MPs and how
they adapt to the role once they have been elected.
This thesis uses information gained from two rounds of interviews conducted
with first-term Members of Parliament during their first nine months in office.
Thus this research presents an insight into how MPs view candidate selection
and follows them through their first few months in the job as they reconcile
their pre-election expectations with the roles expected of MPs. The result is an
account of how individuals become MPs and the roles they develop once
elected.
