was later joined by Amy Adams and Simon Bridges. She cited the need for "strong and decisive leadership". Collins was endorsed by former National leader Don Brash, and political commentators Duncan Garner, Mike Hosking, Cameron Slater, and Chris Trotter. Hosking later retracted his endorsement when Steven Joyce announced his candidacy. Bridges went on to win the leadership role. In late May 2018, Collins, in her capacity as Opposition Transport spokesperson, raised the matter that Transport Minister Phil Twyford had made an unauthorised phone call while his flight had taken off; a violation of national civil aviation laws. In response, Twyford offered to resign as Transport Minister. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stripped Twyford of his civil aviation portfolio but retained him as Transport Minister. 2020 leadership campaign On 14 July 2020, Collins was elected as leader of the National Party following a leadership election held following the abrupt resignation of Todd Muller earlier that day. Gerry Brownlee was also elected as Deputy Leader of the National Party. She became the second female leader of the National Party. Collins faced criticism during her campaign for being out of touch with common New Zealanders after she severely underestimated the price of a block of cheese after being asked how much it cost during an interview. Leader of the Opposition (2020–2021) Collins led the party to the 2020 election as significant underdogs, with opinion polls suggesting historically large swings to the Labour Party, reflecting its well-received response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Collins, although more popular than her predecessors Todd Muller and Simon Bridges, still significantly lagged behind Jacinda Ardern as preferred prime minister by 30 to 40 points. Ultimately, the 2020 election saw a massive Labour landslide, with the party winning 65 seats, enough to form a majority government in its own right. Meanwhile, Collins led the National Party to a crushing defeat, suffering a 18.9% swing against them, and a 23 seat drop; finishing with 33 seats. The result was the second-worst defeat the National Party had ever suffered, edged out by the 2002 disaster, where the party won an even grimmer number of 27 seats. The election even saw the party's Deputy Leader Gerry Brownlee lose his own seat of Ilam, which was considered National heartland. With the result beyond doubt, a near-tearful Collins announced on election night that she had telephoned Ardern and conceded defeat, but vowed that the party would