Election poll percentages little changed

WELLINGTON: Labour’s support has stuck on 47% in the latest 1 NewsColmar Brunton poll, while National has slipped one point to 32%.

Act New Zealand remains on 8% while the Greens have dropped to 6% — close to the 5% threshold.

New Zealand First has nudged up to 2%, but still well short of the 5% threshold despite leader Winston Peters’ predictions of a ‘‘surge’’.

On these numbers, Labour would be one seat shy of being able to govern alone.

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern’s popularity has taken a 4% hit to 50% in the preferred prime minister stakes, compared with National’s Judith

Collins steady on 23%.

Ms Ardern said she was keeping an eye on the polling ‘‘but I’m pretty happy with those numbers’’.

Ms Collins said she believed it was still anybody’s race.

Green Party coleader James Shaw said the numbers showed there was a risk of one party being able to form a Government alone.

Thirteen percent of voters polled were still either undecided or would not say how they would vote.

On that poll result, National would have 41 seats in Parliament — down from 54 now. Labour would have 60.

The percentage numbers have changed little since the last poll about a week ago.

The previous poll on September 28 showed Labour could no longer govern alone but could form a coalition with the Greens.

It showed Labour was on 47% of the party vote, National 33, Act 8, Greens 7, and NZ First fighting for survival on 1%.

The latest poll comes after a tricky week for National leader Judith Collins.

There was the embarrassing leak of an email from National MP Denise Lee, in which she described Collins’ new local government policy as a ‘‘nightmare’’ and criticised the party’s culture under their new leader.

That put Collins on the back foot ahead of the third leaders’ debate in Christchurch, which she was widely considered to have lost to Ms Ardern.

She followed that with an awkward walkabout in Ponsonby, in which she was turned away from one shop and met party supporters posing as members of the public.

Ms Collins was also in defensive mode after being accused of politicising her faith by praying in front of cameras in a church before casting her vote on the weekend.

These events overshadowed National’s big economic announcement, in which it promised to create at least 10,000 jobs a month and get unemployment back to 4% by 2025. — The New Zealand Herald