Chris Hipkins is still the leader of the Labour Party.
He revealed this on Tuesday afternoon after emerging from a lengthy caucus meeting, the party's first since it was drubbed in Saturday's election. That defeat raised questions over whether Hipkins would stay on.
But after the caucus meeting, he retained his position as leader, with Kelvin Davis staying as deputy leader, and Carmel Sepuloni as deputy Prime Minister in the caretaker Government.
Hipkins made clear there was no vote, and he says the issue of leadership wasn't discussed at the meeting. Moreover, the question of who leads the party would be considered again after all the special votes had been counted.
The caucus ended after journalists had been waiting for over an hour, but Hipkins says it was not delayed much and there was a debate on a wide range of topics during the meeting.
Hipkins paid tribute to the retiring Labour front bencher, Andrew Little, saying he was a team player who worked tirelessly for the benefit of the Labour Party, and led it through a difficult time after the 2014 election.
Earlier Tuesday Hipkins said he had given an assurance to the people of the Remutaka electorate that he would serve them for the full three year term when he stood for the seat and he would honour that pledge.
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