New Zealand opposition leader Judith Collins ousted after move to demote rival backfires

New National party leader will be chosen next week, with former Air New Zealand boss Chris Luxon a favourite for the job

Judith Collins, leader of New Zealand's opposition National party, has been toppled after months of poor polling and a shock move to strip a political rival of his portfolios.

MPs voted to end Collins' leadership at a crisis caucus meeting on Thursday. The meeting was prompted after Collins demoted Simon Bridges, a former party leader and one of her rivals. Late on Wednesday night, she stripped Bridges of all of his portfolios, citing an inappropriate comment made by Bridges in 2017 in front of a female colleague- where Bridges says he discussed old wives tales" about how he and his wife might produce a female child. Collins described the comment as serious misconduct".