Labour’s popularity dives in latest poll
National up 6.5pc while Ardern also takes big hit in PM stakes
The Labour Party has plummeted in the most recent Newshub-Reid poll, dropping almost 10 per centage points to now sit behind National.
Labour polled at 41.6 per cent, falling 9.2 percentage points compared to the last poll.
Meanwhile, National is up 6.5 per cent to 43.9.
And, to make matters worse for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, her personal popularity has taken a big hit.
The poll shows Ardern has dropped 10.6 percentage points to 38.4 per cent in the preferred Prime Minister ranking.
Despite the drop, Ardern is still well ahead of National leader Simon Bridges on ranking — he jumped 2.5 percentage points to 6.7 per cent.
Last night’s poll is also bad news for New Zealand First which, although jumping 1.2 percentage points to 4 per cent, is below the 5 per cent threshold.
Based on these numbers, the party would not return to Parliament after the
2020 election.
The Greens were steady on 6.3 per cent and Act almost doubled its support to 1.4 per cent.
This would mean the party would get another MP, taking its total number to two.
But, based on the numbers, Labour and the Greens would still have the numbers to govern.
The poll translates to Labour getting 54 seats and Greens getting eight — taking them to a total of 62.
National and Act would have a combined total of 58 seats.
Last night’s numbers bring
Newshub’s poll more in line with 1 News’ Colmar Brunton poll. That poll, taken in July, had National on 45 per cent, Labour on 43 per cent, and the Greens on 6 per cent.
Last night’s poll comes off the back of Ardern’s trip to New York, where she spoke at the UN.
While in the US, she met President Donald Trump and also appeared on
The Late Show with host Stephen Colbert.
But it also comes after Labour has struggled with a number of scandals, including an investigation into sexual assault.
The poll also captures the KiwiBuild reset and the ongoing Ihuma¯tao saga. Speaking to Newshub Ardern said there is nothing she would have done differently.
Bridges would be happy with the poll but it shows National needs a potential coalition party partner to govern.
“We’ll definitely have options in 2020, watch this space,” he told Newshub.