Focus on Politics: ACT's identity crisis

The ACT Party is having an identity crisis.

Leader David Seymour held onto the seat of Epsom in 2017 and with that kept the party in Parliament.

But, for the first time in a decade, ACT is completely out in the cold. It has its sole MP and is no longer tied to National through a confidence and supply deal.

Mr Seymour has taken to the dance floor, following in the footsteps of ACT leaders past, but the party is languishing.

The last election, he said, has prompted some serious thinking about how voters view ACT, and how to change their perceptions.

The party has surveyed its membership and they are "very much still on board", he said, and there have also been a series of regional meetings to brainstorm.

"The consensus out of that was 'yep, we've failed, what we've done hasn't worked, and we're up for change'."

A "panel of people" would now assess the party's "new identity and purpose".

"It may potentially involve changing the name ACT.

"A lot of advice from marketers is that is a very dangerous thing to do ... but out of all of this we are going to have a very clear identity and purpose."

Over the years the party has taken a position on a wide variety of views, he said.

"We left voters a little bit confused, saying so if I vote for the ACT guy what do I actually get and even people will say well I like ACT, I like David Seymour, but what exactly will that mean for me."

A new name for the party?

The name and ACT brand is a problem, Mr Seymour said.

"When you get people saying 'I can't believe I agree with ACT' and for a while we may have even seen that as a victory because we thought we were starting to win people over.

"But what they were really saying is 'I like what you are saying but I'm never going to vote for you'."

Whatever the party ended up being called, he said it had to be a simple transition.

"You vote for us you get this, we haven't been clear enough about that and that's why we haven't got the votes."

ACT could end up with a traditional name like the Liberals, but Mr Seymour said it could be something more radical.

Other parties like New Zealand First and the Greens had a "clear, simple" brand, something he said ACT lacked.

"We're the party of relentless conservatism, we're the party of ideas, the party of North Shore millionaires, is it something to do with the relationship with the National Party - all of that has taken away from the clear and compelling reason to vote for us.

"I've now got two years to offer that, being a little bit wiser from the previous three years."

Dancing to become a household name

Former ACT leader Rodney Hide went where no previous leader had gone before - Dancing with the Stars - and is best remembered for dropping his partner Krystal.

That did not deter Mr Seymour, who has donned the spandex and embraced the spray tan for the live Mediaworks show.

Of course there were political considerations when he took up the offer, he said.

"And I thought about it, I thought 'well first of all, I'm never going to get asked again so if I don't do it I will regret it for the rest of my life'.

"It's very easy to become stale in Parliament, I mean this is a nice challenge, it's something different that will put me out of my comfort zone."

And he said the audience of half a million people could only be good for exposure.

"If they see me for what I am, based on the way the public vote is going - you know there seems to be something people like, then that can only be good because it's pretty hard to connect with people if you go and lecture them about broad-based low-rate taxes."

He said he had been stunned by the response, and the kindness of New Zealanders.

"Because look it's fairly evident to basically everyone that my dancing is incredible [laughs] and while it is improving, the rate of improvement is not as fast as some of my competitors.

"Nevertheless people seem to love that in spite of all that and in spite of all the knockers, I don't really care, I get out and I enjoy it and I am enjoying it."

He didn't think he had "made a dick" of himself.

"I mean it's clear that I'm not going to invited to join the Royal New Zealand Ballet after this."

But he said he enjoyed raising money for Kidsline and is happy to keep entertaining the audience, as long as the public kept him on the show.