17 Jul 2010

Goodfellow confident of remaining National Party president

6:15 am on 17 July 2010

National Party president Peter Goodfellow is confident of being re-elected at the annual conference in Auckland on Saturday despite some discontent about his leadership.

Under the party's rules, Mr Goodfellow must first be re-elected as a board member, before the board itself votes for the president.

While there have been some rumblings within the party about the presidency, Peter Goodfellow has the support of Prime Minister, John Key.

Mr Key says Mr Goodfellow has done everything asked of him since becoming president last year.

Mr Goodfellow says he is standing on his record which he believes should get him re-elected.

Former National Party president Michelle Boag says she's totally behind Mr Goodfellow, and he's No 1 on her list.

The party continues to hold a substantial lead over Labour in recent opinion polls.

Mr Key says the conference will be an opportunity to look back on National's achievements after almost two years in office, though it will also look at what needs to be done and prepare for next year's election.