PRESS RELEASE
24 January 2017New Leader for Conservative Party of NZ
The Board of the Conservative Party of New Zealand is delighted to be able to announce that Mr Leighton Baker is the new
Party Leader.
Leighton was born in Lower Hutt, lived in both Invercargill and Northland, and attended Secondary School in Auckland, so
has an affinity with all of New Zealand. He farmed for a few years before completing a building apprenticeship in
Auckland. At age 23 he started his own building business, later moving to Rangiora where, 25 years later, he still runs
his building business.
Over the past 20 years or more he has invested in the lives of young people teaching them how to find their strengths
through trades training, in particular he spent 6 years as a trade tutor. He is 50 years of age, married, with 4 grown
children and 4 grandchildren. He has been politically active for the past 10 years, and a part of the Conservative Party
Board since its foundation.
Leighton is a practical man, with practical solutions to everyday problems. His philosophy is, if it isn’t broken, don’t
try fixing it, but if it is broken, then fix it. Sadly, previous governments have tried to fix things that weren’t
broken, and now we have broken things that desperately need fixing. He leads a Party committed to practical thinking and
policies that make sense.
"People ask why am I involved in The Conservative Party? Family. Fame is fickle and fortunes come and go, but healthy
families continue to give purpose, security and love.
"I am involved in the Conservative Party because families matter, my family matters, your family matters and they are
worth fighting for," says Leighton.
Ends