He also said that the party no longer advocates removing Māori seats, easing of gun laws, or introducing forced prison labour.

[15] Other past and present high profile members include: The Conservative Party was founded by Colin Craig, a businessman who had organised a protest march in 2009[30][31] and who had stood in the 2010 Auckland mayoral election, polling third with 8.7% of the vote.

[45] It highlighted its socially conservative policies of raising the drinking age to 21, parental notification for abortions, and repeal of the "anti-smacking" law.

[48] Colin Craig stated that if the police found any impropriety neither Larry Baldock nor Peter Redman would be allowed to stand as Conservative candidates.

[51][52] The party gained 50,218 votes overall, and two candidates (Christine Rankin and Callum Blair) were elected to the Upper Harbour Local Board.

[53] In February 2014, the then-Green Party co-leader Russel Norman spoke at the Big Gay Out event in Auckland and alleged that Colin Craig held misogynistic and homophobic attitudes.

[55] In November 2013 speculation arose in New Zealand news media[56] about a possible accommodation between the Conservatives and the National Party for the 2014 general election.

[64] On 1 August 2014 Colin Craig revealed that China-based firm Shanghai Pengxin was purchasing Lochinver Station, a large dairy farm, and said that the Conservatives were opposed to the deal.

[65] The party reached 4.6% in a 3 News Reid Research poll released in late August 2014, suggesting that it might break the 5% threshold.

[69] Shortly before the general election, the party's press secretary Rachel MacGregor resigned, citing Colin Craig's alleged manipulative behaviour.

Board members had scheduled a meeting for that day to discuss the leadership as it was felt that Craig's recent participation in a television interview (with David Farrier on the debut episode of Newsworthy), conducted in a sauna, had reflected badly on the party.

[78] In a media conference on 22 June 2015, Craig admitted that he had "acted inappropriately" toward his press secretary Rachel MacGregor but denied any charge of sexual harassment.

In response, MacGregor said that by making the admission, Craig had breached a confidentiality agreement the pair had reached under Human Rights Commission mediation and she disputed his account of the events.

"[79][80] According to the Herald, several board members of the party including Stringer, Christine Rankin, and Laurence Day indicated support for a change of leadership.

[87] On 29 July 2015, Craig started a lawsuit against several opponents including the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union's executive director Jordan Williams, fellow party member John Stringer, and the right wing blogger Cameron Slater for alleged defamation.

Craig also cited the ongoing lawsuits involving him, Cameron Slater, and Stringer as other reasons for his decision not to contest the party leadership.

[98] In September 2016, the Auckland High Court began hearing Jordan Williams' defamation lawsuit against Craig, expected to last five weeks.

[101] On 14 and 15 September, MacGregor testified that Craig's alleged harassment during the three years of her employment had contributed to her decision to resign two days prior to the 2014 general election.

[107] Brian Dobbs, the former chairman of the Conservative Party, also testified that he and several other board members had expressed their dissatisfaction with Craig's and MacGregor's relationship.

[108] On 22 September, former Conservative Party board member Laurence Day disputed MacGregor's claim that Colin Craig had sexually harassed her, on the grounds that Williams had failed to present the incriminating alleged "sext" text message.

Mills also contended that Williams had broken MacGregor's trust by passing information on her relationship with Craig to other Conservative Party officials and Cameron Slater's blog Whale Oil.

Since its revamp, the party has campaigned on free speech issues and conservative family values, and opposed the United Nations' Global Compact for Migration and the decriminalisation of abortion and euthanasia.

[4][131] In late April 2019, Deputy Leader Ikilei was temporarily suspended from Twitter for posting "'Trans women' are men with dysphoria/disorder, to be treated with compassion and tolerance"; a remark which many regarded as transphobic.

[133] While the party condemned the Christchurch mosque shootings,[134] it opposed the Labour-led coalition government's Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019 and gun registration.

[135][4] The party also supported stronger relations with Israel including establishing an embassy in Jerusalem, apologising for United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

[136] The New Conservatives also called on the New Zealand Government to join its Five Eyes allies in condemning the Hong Kong national security law.

[154] Ikilei complimented his predecessor's devotion to the party and conservative politics while signalling that he would bring a "more aggressive and “confrontational” approach to presentation style.

[165][non-primary source needed] In August 2023, the New Conservative's leader Helen Houghton released the party's Family Builder policy, which was costed at NZ$9.1 billion in its first year.

In an interview with The Wireless in 2018, Young Conservative opposed same-sex marriage, abortion reform, and affirmative action, and sought an eventual ban on pornography.

[170] Helen Houghton stood for the New Conservatives in the Tauranga electorate, after former New Zealand National Party leader Simon Bridges stepped down from Parliament.