# Christopher Luxon
**Christopher Luxon** is a New Zealand politician and former businessman who serves as [Prime Minister of New Zealand](https://www.edgepedia.org/prime-minister-of-new-zealand) and leader of the center-right [National Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-party), having taken office in November 2023 at the head of a coalition government with [ACT New Zealand](https://www.edgepedia.org/act-new-zealand) and New Zealand First.[1](https://www.interest.co.nz/sites/default/files/2025-12/BMI%20New%20Zealand_%20Coalition%20Government%20Faces%20Mounting%20Challenges%20%20-%2005%20Dec%202025.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Office | Prime Minister of New Zealand and leader of the National Party since November 2023[1](https://www.interest.co.nz/sites/default/files/2025-12/BMI%20New%20Zealand_%20Coalition%20Government%20Faces%20Mounting%20Challenges%20%20-%2005%20Dec%202025.pdf) • [2](https://roymorgan-cms-prod.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/01042246/9893-NZ-National-Voting-Intention-March-2025.pdf) |
| Government | Coalition with ACT New Zealand and New Zealand First[1](https://www.interest.co.nz/sites/default/files/2025-12/BMI%20New%20Zealand_%20Coalition%20Government%20Faces%20Mounting%20Challenges%20%20-%2005%20Dec%202025.pdf) |
| 2023 election | Led the National Party to victory over Labour's Chris Hipkins after six years of a liberal government, promising tax cuts for the "squeezed middle"[3](https://apnews.com/article/9583bb08d5e147e0077758c1028a13b7) • [4](https://apnews.com/article/9309fc1816569adac27efe0e7ec77c25) |
| Approval, April 2025 | -7 in the 1News Verian poll (40% approve, 47% disapprove), down from -5 in June 2024[5](https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/04/08/poll-hipkins-outranks-luxon-in-leaders-approval-ratings/) |
| Preferred PM, August 2026 | 17%, down one percentage point from June and continuing a downward trend[6](https://tvnz-1-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/2026/08/12/poll-luxons-pm-rating-drops-again-continuing-trend-of-his-time-in-office/) |
| Leadership challenge | Survived a National caucus confidence vote in August 2026 after a challenge from his defense minister[7](https://apnews.com/article/f290c18a3283e208d3a74568a0237ac1) |
| Social media bill | Proposed a law banning children under 16 from social media platforms; it had not passed before Parliament dissolved on October 1, 2026[8](https://apnews.com/article/e6a4f600a60ee41d27bbb4232b5df705) |
## Election as prime minister
Luxon led the National Party into the 2023 general election as a former businessman whose promise of tax cuts for what he called the nation's "squeezed middle" appeared to be resonating with voters.[3](https://apnews.com/article/9583bb08d5e147e0077758c1028a13b7) The election ended six years of a liberal government led for most of that time by [Jacinda Ardern](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacinda-ardern), with voters reporting concern about the economy and the rising cost of living.[4](https://apnews.com/article/9309fc1816569adac27efe0e7ec77c25) His campaign was not without stumbles, including a gaffe in a 1News debate when he was asked how much he spent each week on food.[4](https://apnews.com/article/9309fc1816569adac27efe0e7ec77c25) Because no party won a majority, he formed a coalition government with the libertarian ACT Party and [Winston Peters](https://www.edgepedia.org/winston-peters)' New Zealand First.[1](https://www.interest.co.nz/sites/default/files/2025-12/BMI%20New%20Zealand_%20Coalition%20Government%20Faces%20Mounting%20Challenges%20%20-%2005%20Dec%202025.pdf) • [9](https://apnews.com/article/26ae116495274577405452029ba0b6b2)
**A honeymoon that did not arrive.** The traditional post-election popularity bump eluded Luxon: by February 2024 his preferred prime minister rating had held steady at 25%, with no gain from his pre-election position, while his new opposition rival [Chris Hipkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-hipkins) fell 10 points in the same measure.[10](https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/02/23/luxons-popularity-low-compared-to-other-first-term-pms/)
## Approval and polling record
Luxon's personal ratings declined through his first term. In the 1News Verian poll of April 2025, approval of his handling of the job stood at -7, calculated as 40 percent approving and 47 percent disapproving, a two-point drop from -5 the previous June, and he scored below Opposition leader Chris Hipkins, although he still led Hipkins in the preferred prime minister stakes, 23 percent to 20 percent.[5](https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/04/08/poll-hipkins-outranks-luxon-in-leaders-approval-ratings/) Groups more likely to approve of him included National Party supporters, households earning over $150,000, men aged 35 to 54, and people of Asian descent.[5](https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/04/08/poll-hipkins-outranks-luxon-in-leaders-approval-ratings/)
**Declining numbers into the 2026 election year.** By March 2026, a Curia poll gave Luxon a net approval rating of -19 (27 percent approve, 46 percent disapprove), with Hipkins preferred as prime minister by 29.5 percent to his 25 percent.[11](https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/16-03-2026/are-luxons-struggles-special-or-is-he-a-victim-of-a-global-incumbency-curse) An RNZ-Reid Research survey the following month put his net performance score at -20.6, with 50.4 percent saying he was doing poorly, and his preferred prime minister rating at 17.3 percent, behind Hipkins at 20.7 percent.[12](https://newswire.co.nz/2026/04/national-struggling-in-the-polls-as-election-year-heats-up/) The 1News Verian poll of August 2026 recorded his preferred prime minister rating at 17 percent, down a further point from June, in what the broadcaster described as a continuing trend of his time in office.[6](https://tvnz-1-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/2026/08/12/poll-luxons-pm-rating-drops-again-continuing-trend-of-his-time-in-office/)
In the Vote Compass survey of 136,713 respondents conducted October 4 to 11, 2026, Luxon's favourability averaged 3.6 on a zero-to-ten scale, fifth among the nine leaders assessed and behind both Hipkins (4.3) and Judith Collins's 2020 score of 3.7; he scored 2.9 among voters aged 18 to 29 and 4.4 among those 65 and over.[13](https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/10/17/how-we-rate-our-party-leaders-none-of-them-makes-it-to-5-out-of-10/)
## Leadership challenge of 2026
In August 2026, less than three months before the election, Luxon convened a closed-door meeting of National Party lawmakers that ran more than three hours, after which he said he had survived a confidence vote in his leadership prompted by a challenge from his defense minister. He did not disclose the vote count, saying only that he had "the full support of our caucus."[7](https://apnews.com/article/f290c18a3283e208d3a74568a0237ac1) He had earlier drawn criticism for telling a business audience that some business leaders had a "parent-child mentality" and looked to the government for direction too often.[7](https://apnews.com/article/f290c18a3283e208d3a74568a0237ac1) Following the failed challenge, he sacked Chris Penk from Cabinet, saying the MP had acted alone.[14](https://tvnz-1-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/2026/08/25/poll-did-national-make-the-wrong-call-keeping-luxon/)
## Policy and later term
In August 2026 Luxon proposed legislation banning children younger than 16 from using social media platforms, citing what he called "harm being done to a generation" of young people.[8](https://apnews.com/article/e6a4f600a60ee41d27bbb4232b5df705) His government had considered such a measure since Australia's age-restriction law for under-16s took effect in December 2025.[8](https://apnews.com/article/e6a4f600a60ee41d27bbb4232b5df705) The bill lacked support from two of the three coalition parties, and Parliament dissolved on October 1, 2026 ahead of the November election before any vote could be held.[8](https://apnews.com/article/e6a4f600a60ee41d27bbb4232b5df705)
## References
1. [New Zealand: Coalition Government Faces Mounting Challenges (BMI, December 2025)](https://www.interest.co.nz/sites/default/files/2025-12/BMI%20New%20Zealand_%20Coalition%20Government%20Faces%20Mounting%20Challenges%20%20-%2005%20Dec%202025.pdf)
2. [Roy Morgan New Zealand Voting Intention, March 2025](https://roymorgan-cms-prod.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/01042246/9893-NZ-National-Voting-Intention-March-2025.pdf)
3. [On the campaign trail, New Zealand leader Chris Hipkins faces an uphill battle wooing voters (AP News, 2023)](https://apnews.com/article/9583bb08d5e147e0077758c1028a13b7)
4. [New Zealand elects conservative Christopher Luxon as premier after 6 years of liberal rule (AP News, 2023)](https://apnews.com/article/9309fc1816569adac27efe0e7ec77c25)
5. [Poll: Hipkins outranks Luxon in leaders' approval ratings (1News, April 2025)](https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/04/08/poll-hipkins-outranks-luxon-in-leaders-approval-ratings/)
6. [Poll: Luxon's PM rating drops again, continuing trend of his time in office (1News, August 2026)](https://tvnz-1-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/2026/08/12/poll-luxons-pm-rating-drops-again-continuing-trend-of-his-time-in-office/)
7. [Luxon survives another leadership vote months before New Zealand's election (AP News, August 2026)](https://apnews.com/article/f290c18a3283e208d3a74568a0237ac1)
8. [New Zealand's prime minister proposes banning children from using social media (AP News, August 2026)](https://apnews.com/article/e6a4f600a60ee41d27bbb4232b5df705)
9. [New Zealanders vote in general election, with polls indicating they favor a conservative change (AP News, 2023)](https://apnews.com/article/26ae116495274577405452029ba0b6b2)
10. [Luxon's popularity low compared to other first-term PMs (1News, February 2024)](https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/02/23/luxons-popularity-low-compared-to-other-first-term-pms/)
11. [Are Luxon's struggles special, or is he a victim of a global incumbency curse? (The Spinoff, March 2026)](https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/16-03-2026/are-luxons-struggles-special-or-is-he-a-victim-of-a-global-incumbency-curse)
12. [National Struggling in the Polls as Election Year Heats Up (News Wire, April 2026)](https://newswire.co.nz/2026/04/national-struggling-in-the-polls-as-election-year-heats-up/)
13. [How we rate our party leaders: None of them makes it to 5 out of 10 (1News, October 2026)](https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/10/17/how-we-rate-our-party-leaders-none-of-them-makes-it-to-5-out-of-10/)
14. [Poll: Did National make the wrong call keeping Luxon? (1News, August 2026)](https://tvnz-1-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/2026/08/25/poll-did-national-make-the-wrong-call-keeping-luxon/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Government and public administration › Prime ministers, cabinets, and ministries › Prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 27, 2026; Sep 28, 2026; Sep 29, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 27, 2026; Sep 28, 2026; Sep 29, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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