Former National Party minister Andrew Bayly will not seek a place on the party's list for the upcoming election, marking his exit from Parliament.
Bayly confirmed the move to 1News at National's annual conference in Wellington on Saturday, saying it was "no big deal" and that he had told the party "a while ago" he wouldn't pursue a list seat.
"My wife and I have decided to pursue a different path," he said.
Yesterday, National confirmed the party board had chosen senior MP Gerry Brownlee and Nancy Lu for list-only positions, while deputy leader Nicola Willis had earlier confirmed she would also run as a list-only candidate.
Bayly had already signalled his departure from electorate politics back in March, when he said he wouldn't seek the National nomination for Port Waikato after deciding to relocate to the South Island.
"I believe it is important that the people of the Port Waikato electorate are represented by someone who is able to live locally and maintain a strong, day-to-day connection with the community," he said at the time.
"My wife and I love the South Island, which is where we intend to relocate later this year."
Bayly was first elected to Parliament in 2014, representing Hunua before the electorate became Port Waikato in 2020. He was ranked third on the party list under then-leader Judith Collins, and was appointed Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Small Business and Manufacturing, and Statistics when the coalition Government formed in 2023.
He was also the current chairperson of the Justice Committee and introduced changes to modernise and digitalise the Companies Act.
His ministerial career came to an end in February 2025, when he resigned after inappropriately "holding" a staff member during what was described as an "animated discussion" at work — an incident he later apologised for.
It followed an earlier controversy in late 2024, when Bayly was accused of telling a worker at a winery to "take some wine and f*** off".
The worker said at the time Bayly called him a loser and formed the shape of an "L" on his forehead with his fingers.
Bayly will continue serving as Port Waikato's MP until the general election.
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