Senior Whip of the Labour Party
# Senior Whip of the Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party's senior whip administers the "whipping in" system that tries to ensure that party MPs attend and vote according to the party leadership's wishes. The position is elected by the Labour caucus members. The senior whip also acts as an intermediary between the backbenchers and the party leadership. Whenever Labour is in government the senior whip serves as the chief government whip and when out of government serves as chief opposition whip. Thus the position is also referred to as "chief whip".

All Labour whips have been members of the House of Representatives, with none coming from the Legislative Council before its abolition in 1950.

The current senior whip is Tangi Utikere.

## List

The following is a list of all senior whips of the Labour Party:

| No. | Name | Electorate | Term of office | Term of office |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Andrew Walker | Dunedin North | 7 July 1916 | 28 August 1919 |
| 2 | James McCombs | Lyttelton | 28 August 1919 | 10 March 1921 |
| 3 | Dan Sullivan | Avon | 10 March 1921 | 5 December 1935 |
| 4 | Bill Jordan | Manukau | 5 December 1935 | 11 June 1936 |
| 5 | Robert McKeen | Wellington South | 11 June 1936 | 11 May 1939 |
| 6 | James O'Brien | Westland | 11 May 1939 | 2 December 1942 |
| 7 | Arthur Shapton Richards | Mount Albert | 2 December 1942 | 5 August 1947† |
| 8 | Robert McFarlane | Christchurch Central | 19 September 1947 | 27 June 1951 |
| 9 | Phil Connolly | Dunedin Central | 27 June 1951 | 10 July 1952 |
| 10 | Joe Cotterill | Wanganui | 10 July 1952 | 9 January 1958 |
| 11 | Henry May | Onslow | 9 January 1958 | 29 November 1972 |
| 12 | Ron Barclay | New Plymouth | 29 November 1972 | 29 January 1976 |
| 13 | Roger Drayton | St Albans | 29 January 1976 | 5 May 1978 |
| 14 | Russell Marshall | Wanganui | 5 May 1978 | 13 February 1980 |
| 15 | Jonathan Hunt | New Lynn | 13 February 1980 | 19 July 1984 |
| 16 | Michael Cullen | St Kilda | 19 July 1984 | 18 August 1987 |
| 17 | Margaret Austin | Yaldhurst | 18 August 1987 | 8 February 1990 |
| 18 | Trevor Mallard | Hamilton West | 8 February 1990 | 31 October 1990 |
| (15) | Jonathan Hunt | New Lynn | 31 October 1990 | 19 December 1996 |
| 19 | Mark Burton | Taupo | 19 December 1996 | 10 December 1999 |
| 20 | Rick Barker | Tukituki | 10 December 1999 | 15 August 2002 |
| 21 | David Benson-Pope | Dunedin South | 15 August 2002 | 26 February 2004 |
| 22 | Jill Pettis | Wanganui | 26 February 2004 | 1 November 2005 |
| 23 | Tim Barnett | Christchurch Central | 1 November 2005 | 8 November 2008 |
| 24 | Darren Hughes | List MP | 8 November 2008 | 25 March 2011 |
| – | Steve Chadwick (acting) | List MP | 25 March 2011 | 5 April 2011 |
| (20) | Rick Barker | List MP | 5 April 2011 | 13 December 2011 |
| 25 | Chris Hipkins | Rimutaka | 13 December 2011 | 17 September 2013 |
| 26 | Sue Moroney | List MP | 17 September 2013 | 23 September 2014 |
| (25) | Chris Hipkins | Rimutaka | 23 September 2014 | 15 December 2016 |
| 27 | Kris Faafoi | Mana | 15 December 2016 | 31 October 2017 |
| 28 | Ruth Dyson | Port Hills | 31 October 2017 | 27 June 2019 |
| 29 | Michael Wood | Mount Roskill | 27 June 2019 | 2 November 2020 |
| 30 | Kieran McAnulty | Wairarapa | 2 November 2020 | 14 June 2022 |
| 31 | Duncan Webb | Christchurch Central | 14 June 2022 | 31 January 2023 |
| 32 | Tangi Utikere | Palmerston North | 31 January 2023 | present |
