Victor Billot

Victor Billot
Billot in 2008
Leader of the Alliance
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 February 2026
Preceded byPosition vacant
In office
21 October 2007 – 31 March 2008
Serving with Kay Murray
Preceded byPaul Piesse & Len Richards
Succeeded byAndrew McKenzie
President of the Alliance
In office
2025 – 14 February 2026
Preceded byPosition vacant
Succeeded byTom Roud
In office
November 2006 – 21 October 2007
Preceded byJill Ovens
Succeeded byPaul Piesse
Personal details
Born1972 (age 53–54)
Dunedin, New Zealand
Party
ProfessionTrade unionist

Victor Philip Billot (/ˈvɪktər biˈloʊ/ bee-LOH; born 1972) is a New Zealand writer, unionist and politician. He is the leader of the Alliance party.

Early life

Billot was born in 1972 in Dunedin and was raised in Warrington. He attended the University of Otago, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1994. He was co-editor of the Otago University Students' Association magazine Critic Te Ārohi in 1995, and a performer in the bands Alpha Plan, Age of Dog and Das Phaedrus.

NewLabour and the Alliance Party

Billot was a founding member of the NewLabour Party, which was set up in 1989 by Jim Anderton. In 1991, NewLabour was one of four parties to form the Alliance political party.

He was a candidate for the Alliance in 2005 (ranked 8 on the party list), 2008 (3), and 2011 (6), contesting the Dunedin North electorate each time. In 2008, he was berated by the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, at a University of Otago campaign stop for the perceived faults of the National Party when she mistook him for a supporter of that party.

At the party's 2006 conference, held in Wellington, no co-leaders were elected. Instead the party decided to concentrate on internal reorganisation; Billot was elected president. At the 2007 national conference, held in Dunedin, two co-leaders were elected, Billot and Kay Murray, with Paul Piesse returning to his former role as party president. Billot was co-leader for less than one year, stepping down from the role, effective at the end of March 2008, due to family commitments.

In 2011 it was reported Dunedin South MP Clare Curran had repeatedly invited Billot to join the New Zealand Labour Party.

He stepped down from his role as spokesman and occasional co-leader of the Alliance Party in March 2014. He continued to engage in left wing activism in Dunedin, campaigning against cuts to postal services in 2015.

After a period as the party president, Billot was re-elected Alliance Party leader in February 2026. He contested the Dunedin electorate at the 2026 general election. In June 2026, the Maritime Union of New Zealand national council unanimously voted to affiliate to the Alliance under Billot's leadership. He called it a "gamechanger" for that year's election and beyond for "advancing an uncompromising working class voice in New Zealand politics".

During the 2026 general election, Billot came eighth place in the Dunedin electorate race; gaining 191 votes based on preliminary results. The Alliance Party only gained 0.04% of the popular vote, well below the 5 percent threshold needed to enter Parliament.

Professional life

Billot was the national communications officer for the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) between 2003 and 2016. In January 2017 he began working as publicist for the Otago University Press. By January 2022 Billot had returned to his previous role at MUNZ.

From 2020 to 2025 he wrote a weekly poetry column for Newsroom.

Publications

Billot has published four poetry collections:

His work has also appeared in Australian and New Zealand literary journals including Cordite, Meniscus, Minarets and Takahē.

Recordings

Billot has recorded several albums since the early 1990s with music groups in addition to a solo album, including:

References

  1. 1 2 "Alliance Party Announces Key Candidates For Otago Electorates". Scoop News. 23 March 2026. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  2. ↑ "Victor Billot". Otago University Press. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  3. 1 2 "A man of a few words". Otago Daily Times Online News. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  4. ↑ "Graduate Search Results". The University of Otago. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "Alpha Plan's first Dunedin show in 20 years". Otago Daily Times. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  6. ↑ "Age Of Dog – AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "Andrew Spittle – AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  8. ↑ Billot, Victor (10 February 2011). "New Zealand is ripe for an alternative: a new Left party". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "Party Lists of Unsuccessful Registered Parties". Elections New Zealand. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "Party Lists of Unsuccessful Registered Parties". Elections New Zealand. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  11. ↑ "Party lists for the 2011 General Election". Elections New Zealand. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  12. ↑ Mackenzie, Dene (14 October 2008). "Students give PM rock star welcome". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "Alliance Conference asks the hard questions" (PDF). December 2006. The Alliance Team 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2026. Co-leaders will be appointed for the next election campaign.
  14. ↑ "New Alliance Party Leaders Elected". Alliance. 21 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2026 – via Scoop.
  15. ↑ "Alliance Update February 2008". Alliance. 28 February 2008. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  16. ↑ Rudd, Allison (8 November 2011). "Candidates find common ground at election forum". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "Victor Billot | LinkedIn". Nz.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  18. ↑ "Question mark over posties | Otago Daily Times Online News : Otago, South Island, New Zealand & International News". Odt.co.nz. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "Alliance Party Launches First Campaign In Over A Decade". Alliance. 4 July 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2026 – via Scoop.
  20. ↑ "Alliance Party Confirms 2026 General Election Campaign". Alliance. 15 February 2026. Retrieved 26 March 2026 – via Scoop.
  21. ↑ "Maritime Union affiliates with Alliance Party, keeps door open to Labour". Radio New Zealand. 7 June 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Dunedin - Preliminary Count". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 8 November 2026.
  23. ↑ "2026 General Election - Preliminary Count". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 8 November 2026.
  24. ↑ "Alliance electorate candidates for 2011 announced" (Press release). New Zealand Alliance Party. Scoop. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  25. ↑ "A man of a few words". Otago Daily Times. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  26. ↑ "National Office". Maritime Union of New Zealand. 25 April 2009. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  27. ↑ "Victor Billot". Newsroom. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  28. ↑ Department, Malcolm Deans, Senior Library Assistant, Heritage. "What's New McNab". Dunedin Public Libraries. Retrieved 17 August 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  29. ↑ "Poetry roundup". Otago Daily Times. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  30. ↑ "The Quantum Uncertainty of Now". Landfall Review Online. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  31. ↑ "Review: The Sets". Kete Books. 4 August 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  32. ↑ "Life in the Permian". Cordite Poetry Review. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  33. ↑ "Meniscus". Meniscus. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  34. ↑ "Victor Billot – min – a – rets". minarets.info. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  35. ↑ "Victor Billot". takahē magazine. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  36. ↑ "Robots & Electronic Brains – eclectic music zine". www.robotsandelectronicbrains.co.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2018.