Belowthe beltway

The campaign trail is frenetic, the polls are nuts and the race is tight. So who’s up and who’s down in politics this week?

UP

James Shaw: He has been tireless on the campaign trail and it appears to be paying off, with the Green Party clawing its way back above that crucial 5 per cent threshold in polls.

UnitedFuture leader Damien Light: A political unknown before he stepped into a TVNZ minor party leaders’ debate as Peter Dunne’s replacement, Light lit up the internet as the Ryan Gosling of NZ politics. National leader Bill English: National is 10 points ahead of Labour in the latest Newshub-Reid Research poll, and on track to govern alone. Labour leader Jacinda Ardern: According to the One News-Colmar Brunton poll, she is on track to be the next prime minister. Confused?

DOWN

English: Can someone be up and down in the same week? Well, yes, according to the polls. The One NewsColmar Brunton poll had National trailing Labour again by 4 points. Ardern: Yup, you guessed it, Labour took a dive in the Newshub poll. Winston Peters: NZ First is the only consistent story in both polls, which have him well below 10 per cent and slowly running of steam. And a train wreck interview on RNZ won’t do him any favours either.

Grant Robertson: Labour’s finance spokesman had to front the party’s embarrassing backdown on tax as National’s attacks on income tax, inheritance tax, and water taxes started to get some real traction. Pollsters: They must be seriously worried if they’ve still got a future after all these nutty poll results.

MAKING A MARK ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

East Coast Bays MP Anne Tolley was having a bad day while out with Bill English in the electorate. First she nearly tripped in her blue snakeskin heels. Then it was all smiles when the classroom cuties at TeWharau School in Gisborne welcomed the PM with a chorus of ‘‘Hello Mr English’’. But when they followed it up with an enthusiastic ‘‘Good morning, Mrs English’’, an embarrassed Tolley had to hastily correct them.