National Party leader Christopher Luxon says losing MP Simon Bridges will be a big loss for the party.
The frontbench MP and former leader announced his retirement yesterday, triggering a by-election in the Tauranga electorate that he has represented since 2008.
Luxon told Morning Report he tried unsuccessfully to convince Bridges to stay on.
"I sort of tried to convince him otherwise, because I think he's been doing a great job."
"He's going to be a big loss for us. He's been a tremendous champion for Tauranga. He was a very good senior minister, and he's been a great leader of National Party."
He said he's confident his party has the economic leadership expected of it and a new finance spokesperson will be announced on Wednesday.
