Auckland lockdown leaves PM wearing Allbirds for conference

November 6, 2021

The Prime Minister says she didn't have all her clothes from Auckland.

The Prime Minister went without heels for Saturday’s virtual Labour Party conference — opting instead for a comfortable pair of slip-ons. 

Jacinda Ardern delivered a speech to party faithful from Wellington during Labour’s annual conference while wearing black Allbirds. 

When asked about her choice of footwear, Ardern laughed.

“I will confess that, unfortunately, I left my high heels in the office," she said.

“As everyone in the [press] gallery knows, I don’t have all of my clothes from Auckland here in Wellington over the past three months.

“So, my options at home were these — thank you for asking.” 

Ardern had indicated she would visit Auckland next week, after Speaker Trevor Mallard changed Parliament's self-isolation rules .

Saturday’s virtual conference is the first Labour has had since its landslide 2020 election win. 

The conference's main focus will be a vote on how the party will elect a future leader  to eventually replace Ardern. The changes mean future leaders could be elected solely by two-thirds of the party’s caucus. 

Previously, the caucus, Labour members and unions all vote on the leader in an electoral college system.

Ardern was elected as leader by the caucus in 2017, after Andrew Little decided to step down from the position weeks from the election. 

This is in contrast to former leaders — Little and David Cunliffe — who were elected through the electoral college system even though the caucus preferred Grant Robertson on both occasions.

SHARE ME

More Stories