The Spinoff reveals the parliamentarians with the most clout among their peers (according to scientific data, which should not be questioned).

Every three years, New Zealand holds a nation-wide popularity contest. The prize? Control over the country. You’d usually hope the most able people are elected to the top job, but being likeable is a pretty big plus too.

With our One MP, One Pint series on hiatus until after the election (check out our new One Candidate, One Pint series instead), we decided to crunch the numbers to figure out the answers to the big questions. With 43 MPs having now taken our scientific survey over a drink of their choice, who’s everyone’s favourite fantasy quiz team pick? Who’s worth reaching out across the aisle to get to know better? And, ultimately, who in the halls of power is actually the most likeable?

All in all, 73 MPs were named in answer to these questions. Many of these MPs were given the same number of shout-outs, so deciding who was truly popular came down to the spread across the House. It’s one thing to be the favourite of your own caucus, but who’s out there uniting the masses? Another concern: are they invited to the hang out because they need to be lobbied, or because they’ve got good chat?

So, with all of that in mind, here are the 20 most popular MPs, as ranked by other MPs, as according to the One MP, One Pint universe.

20. Hana Rawhiti Maipi Clark (Te Pāti Māori)

Te Pāti Māori’s youngest MP “just does things to my heart”, National MP Rima Nakhle told The Spinoff last December. While she might be last placed here, on the world stage, Maipi Clark is probably our most admired MP. Her haka in parliament attracted hundreds of millions of views worldwide, and last year she was named an influential rising star by Time Magazine.

19. Paul Goldsmith (National)

Goldie’s brain and impeccable manner has made him well-liked within his own caucus and cabinet. It’s hard to admit, but there’s just something about that dry wit.

18. Tamatha Paul (Greens)

Speaking of Goldie, he wouldn’t mind laying down arms to jump on a quiz team with this Green MP for Wellington Central. “She would probably be quite useful because she’d have a different perspective on things,” Goldsmith said of Paul’s skillset, which is probably the nicest thing you could get out of him. Thankfully for Paul, her colleague Steve Abel and party leader Chlöe Swarbrick have also vouched for her cool girl vibes.

17. Camilla Belich (Labour)

“Sensible”, “super smart” and “a good person” is how National MPs have described Labour’s Belich. Is there a better way to prove you’re able to get along and get the job done than being the first MP (alongside National’s Greg Fleming) to invoke standing order 288 and use cross-party support to progress the Modern Slavery Bill?

16. Duncan Webb (Labour)

If Lawrence Xu-Nan wants you on their pub quiz team, you know you’re doing something right. Webb is the unc of the Labour Party (respectfully) and his jokes are much appreciated by all – had the Hansard writers decided this ranking, I dare say he would’ve broken into the top 10.

15. Damien O’Connor (Labour)

Act MP Parmjeet Parmar admired the breadth of knowledge Labour’s current longest-serving MP brought when the two travelled together to India for the signing of the free-trade agreement. O’Connor also clicks with the defence minister, with National’s Chris Penk telling The Spinoff last July that O’Connor “just gets it”. 

14. Arena Williams (Labour)

She’s served in the trenches of the Regulatory Review Committee with Penk, and earned the admiration of Act MP Laura McClure for being a working mum. She’s equal-parts brains and good vibes, which shines through in the way Williams is able to dissect the political messaging of Sabrina Carpenter’s horny pop songs.

13. Tom Rutherford (National)

It may be true what they say about the youngest child being the favourite. Rutherford – the baby of the National Party – gets a lot of love from his colleagues for bringing some much needed youthful vigour and grasp of Gen Z concepts (ie anything that happened after the 90s) to his party. That does have its downsides, however – over a pint in May, Rutherford told The Spinoff he’s had to assume the position of caucus tech expert. Not because he is one, but because the oldies won’t stop asking him for help.

12. Rachel Brooking (Labour)

The ideal drinking partner? “As long as her name is Rachel Brooking, you’ll have a good night,” reckons Belich. Brooking is a Labour MP known to work effectively alongside her political opponents, which is code for being able to shoot the shit about the Resource Management Act over a cold one. In parliament, that’s about the coolest skill anybody could have.

11. James Meager (National)

“Knower of all things”: a strangely mystical title, and one bestowed upon this National Party minister by colleague Katie Nimon. The former lawyer’s big brain is much admired by his caucus, and even old frenemies can’t deny that they wouldn’t mind catching up for one more round. “We were contemporaries in student politics,” Green MP Francisco Hernandez told The Spinoff of Meager in February. “We actually served as a part of the same executive, and we tried to roll the sitting president.”

10. Kieran McAnulty (Labour)

This Labour MP’s CV includes being a TAB bookie and a volunteer firefighter, so you know he’s got some pub yarns up his sleeve.

9. David Seymour (Act)

Seymour, of Dancing With the Stars fame, has found himself here thanks to the support of his Act Party caucus. All of them have name checked their/dear leader, describing him as “exceptionally smart”, “so knowledgable” and the kind of guy who “once he gets a fact, he remembers it”. To courts minister Nicole McKee, he’s a “Ngāpuhi cousin”. To a few opposition MPs, he’s the one guy they want to lobby.

8. Cameron Luxton (Act)

Devastating news for the prime minister: there’s another C. Lux(t)on in the building who is wildly more popular than he is. Luxton may be one of the few Act MPs with admirers in the Greens; both Julie-Anne Genter and Lawrence Xu-Nan have told The Spinoff they appreciate the expertise Luxton brings to the table as parliament’s only licensed building practitioner. He’s also well appreciated by his caucus, with colleague Laura McClure promising he’s “not just a pretty face” – “he is possibly one of the most well-read people that I know”.

7. Barbara Edmonds (Labour)

Perhaps it’s being a mum of eight which makes Edmonds one of the best at uniting the little shits in the mad House. It feels like a pretty good omen to be the most popular Labour MP and the one set to take the finance portfolio if your party is able to form the next government. 

Many of Edmonds admirers are actually in Act, with MP Todd Stephenson telling The Spinoff in December he felt lucky to be able to share a drink with Edmonds and her husband on a speaker’s tour of the US. Luxton also reckons she’s “a bit of fun”. And minister Karen Chhour? “I know she’s truly passionate –  whether we agree or disagree on policies, I know she’s here for the right reasons,” she said of Edmonds last November.

6. Gerry Brownlee (National)

As the second longest-serving current member of parliament, Brownlee is, in the words of Goldsmith, one of those “older crooners, as it were”. Which means he’s got plenty of stories to share and no shortage of ears; even the Greens are keen to give him the time of day. Swarbrick told The Spinoff last September that she’d like to invite Brownlee for a drink, as the two have “a lot of things we need to discuss” – you can imagine it would be a very long night at the pub.

5. Chris Penk (National)

National’s reformed social media troll (who may or may not have directly handed his reins to Joseph Mooney) is known for talking a little shit online, but at least he’s funny about it. Of course, there are many other things that can be said about Penk: he’s got a “good analytical mind” (according to Xu-Nan), is “bloody good for banter” (according to Luxton) and lets his peers in the opposition carpool with him.

However, his prior antics online have left marks in the minds of many. Belich told The Spinoff in May she’d be keen to catch up with the defence minister, but only “as long as it’s him and not his Twitter persona”. Fair shout.

4. Steve Abel (Greens)

Anyone who has had the privilege of enjoying a cheeky tipple with the Greens’ Abel knows he’s one of the few MPs who “can put down the tools”, as National minister Cameron Brewer describes it. He’s not afraid to let the man bun down with his mates in the opposition – like NZ First minister Mark Patterson or National MP Greg Fleming – and can spin a yarn on just about anything. He’s also probably the only person in parliament who can say they’ve won a saddest song contest and survived having his neck chained to a logging helicopter.

In his first term, Abel’s has impressed other MPs for the “really respectful” way he operates with his opposition. In his past life as a Greenpeace campaigner, he used to enjoy whisky after conferences with National MP Scott Simpson. Even internal affairs minister Brooke van Velden has “admired” the way he “genuinely engages with the material and takes his job quite seriously”.

3. Winston Peters (NZ First)

Equally respected and feared, the leader of New Zealand First is a much sought after man in parliament. He may be a constant thorn in the side of almost every parliamentarian (including those within his own coalition), but nothing can rival his war stories. His institutional knowledge is widely respected across parliament, and even though it feels rough when you’re the target of them, when he’s not being racist his jokes are unfortunately good. Watch him hold court in a crowded pub, and you get a masterclass in charisma.

Interestingly, the only party that had zero MPs give a shout-out to Peters was Act.

2. Chris Bishop (National)

There’s something to be said about the power of a personal brand. It’s safe to say we all know a few basic facts about Bish: he’s a simple bloke who enjoys a few beersies at a gig, enjoys a few more at the cricket, yet still possess an “extraordinarily over-the-top Byzantine knowledge” (in Nicola Willis’ words) in his role as transport/housing/infrastructure/RMA reform minister. When he called Stuart Nash a “sexist dickhead” recently, it was a reminder of that little rascal who used to wear a mullet to parliament and celebrated Winston Peters Day.

If there’s a reoccurring theme among our MPs, it’s that many of them are hugely into sports – which is why a guy like Bishop is useful to keep in pub quiz circles. He also shares plenty of similar tastes with MPs across the board – both Act’s Laura McClure and Greens’ Julie-Anne Genter dig his music taste – and the likes of Act’s Simon Court consider him a genuine mate. Generally, Bishop’s “got a good sort of handle on things,” in Goldsmith’s eyes. Again, that’s a big compliment.

1. Lawrence Xu-Nan (Greens)

This Green MP was one of the first MPs to ever be name-dropped in the One MP, One Pint universe, and he’s been on a high ever since. Ask anyone from any corner of the House, and they’ll tell you Xu-Nan’s “the brain of this place,” “extremely knowledgable,” a “hard worker” and most importantly, “he’s got a great smile”. If I had a dollar for every time I heard an MP mention Xu-Nan, I’d finally be able to be the one paying for all these pints.

Xu-Nan has accepted the honour with utmost grace and a belly full of “warm fuzzies”. While others have spent the last year bigging up this first-term MP, Xu-Nan remains characteristically humble. He’s a lowkey MP really – not someone who usually engages in the theatrics of parliament – but it’s his quiet work ethic which other parliamentarians appreciate.

Xu-Nan says keeping the belief that “I know so little about everything”, curiosity as to how his peers think and respecting their difference is what has helped him form connections across the House. Acknowledgment from his peers is a nice reminder “that the world does operate on the fact that we’re caring for each other, we love each other, we want what’s best for all of us”.

“I think it just gives me that extra determination and resolve to keep on being who I am and keep on being kind and generous and respectful.”

“I’m always aware of the fact that a lot of the experiences that we have [as parliamentarians], only the other 122 [MPs] really understand what you’re going through,” Xu-Nan says. “The issue is that if all the public gets to see is MPs fighting amongst themselves, it doesn’t actually put a positive light on any one of us or any one particular party.

“There are a lot of things that we do in the background when there’s a closed session, or just meeting each other in the hallway, that the public doesn’t get to see,” he adds. “I really hope that, one day, we are able to showcase more of that collegiality, and non-partisanship to the public than what is normally portrayed.”