Chris Carter says he might one day apply to rejoin the Labour Party but he will wait until leader Phil Goff is replaced.The party cut its ties with him on Monday night, expelling him for trying to undermine Mr Goff's leadership.The caucus had previously k
Chris Carter says he might one day apply to rejoin the Labour Party but he will wait until leader Phil Goff is replaced.
The party cut its ties with him on Monday night, expelling him for trying to undermine Mr Goff's leadership.
The caucus had previously kicked him out, making him an independent MP.
Mr Carter is still insisting his problem is with Mr Goff, not the party, and said last night on TV One's CloseUp programme he hadn't given up hope of one day returning to it.
But his ongoing criticism and his claims that a group of MPs met in his office on July 28 to plot a leadership change are creating more problems and bad publicity.
Mr Carter was expelled for sending an anonymous letter to the media on July 29 saying a coup was being planned because Mr Goff couldn't win the next election.
That has been denied by Mr Goff, who has challenged Mr Carter to name the MPs he says he was talking to.
"Chris has no credibility...let him name names, that's an open challenge to him," Mr Goff said.
"He just made that up."
Party president Andrew Little told NZPA Mr Carter threatened during Monday night's council meeting to disclose private information about unnamed Labour MPs if he was expelled.
"That threat was clear, but we couldn't be persuaded by that threat," Mr Little said.
Mr Goff described it as blackmail.
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