Written By: - Date published: 5:53 pm, February 28th, 2026 - 29 comments
Hannah Spencer’s stunning win for the Greens in the the UK’s Gorton and Denton by-election has some lessons for political strategists here as well.
Written By: - Date published: 2:28 pm, February 3rd, 2026 - 28 comments
Chris Hipkins, Marama Davidson, and Chloe Swarbrick speak on unity, working together while being separate partners, and the upcoming election.
Written By: - Date published: 2:29 pm, February 1st, 2026 - 61 comments
Current polling suggests that we may witness something that has not happened before, a one term National Government. But this may mean Labour making a deal with Winston Peters. What should Labour do?
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, January 25th, 2026 - 47 comments
Ten months to go and there is no political party currently countering the sustained rise of New Zealand First.
Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, January 20th, 2026 - 17 comments
Christopher Luxon’s latest State of the Nation speech suggests that over summer he has been spending more on his Spotify summer list than he should have.
Written By: - Date published: 3:24 pm, January 18th, 2026 - 16 comments
When intensely watching the orange orangutan in the White House we miss the invisible gorilla in the oval room.
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, January 2nd, 2026 - 8 comments
What will election year 2026 bring to Aotearoa?
Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, January 1st, 2026 - 7 comments
Happy New Year to all the readers, commenters, and fellow authors/mods at The Standard
Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, December 23rd, 2025 - 11 comments
Advantage gets out the crystal ball and postilated what may happen next year.
Written By: - Date published: 8:10 pm, December 17th, 2025 - 22 comments
The last poll of the political year and it is a doozie. Labour is 8 points ahead of National.
Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, December 14th, 2025 - 13 comments
If Labour wins government in 2026, many things won’t be recoverable.
Written By: - Date published: 12:12 pm, December 7th, 2025 - 27 comments
This may be a one term National Government. But electoral law reform, the state of Labour’s coalition partners, a possible economic upturn and a change in National’s leader threaten this.
Written By: - Date published: 1:08 pm, November 29th, 2025 - 60 comments
Labour has recovered from the 26.9% vote share hiding it received in 2023, and is ready to run government again.
Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, October 28th, 2025 - 151 comments
Labour’s Capital Gains Tax has been released in less than an optimal manner. And the policy is more modest than some would have liked.
Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, October 8th, 2025 - 41 comments
National crashing into the 20s in the latest Couria Poll must have increased dramatically the prospects of Christopher Luxon being deposed as Prime Minister.
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, September 28th, 2025 - 24 comments
Christopher Luxon is sticking to his lines that the proposed changes to the Electoral Law will speed up the result even though this will disenfranchise an estimated 55,000 kiwis and even though the Chief Electoral Officer has said that if properly resourced the changes will make no difference.
Written By: - Date published: 2:17 pm, September 4th, 2025 - 43 comments
In 2026 New Zealand First in all likelihood will be back in power because Labour and National will need them to form government.
Written By: - Date published: 7:51 pm, August 31st, 2025 - 43 comments
Shane Jones has publicly attacked Prime Minister Christopher Luxon by accusing him of hiding. The chances of a snap election have just shot up.
Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, August 28th, 2025 - 30 comments
Outrage is easy. Outrage feels righteous. But outrage without discipline destroys the very people it claims to save.
If we want transformation that endures, we must build it brick by brick. Or watch it burn, again.
Written By: - Date published: 6:41 pm, August 27th, 2025 - 19 comments
Everyone on the left can agree that we must change the government. Elliot Crossan argues that if Labour wins in 2026 and refuses to transform the system generating extreme inequality, NZ society will continue to fragment. Change the government. This is currently the unanimous goal of trade union leaders, left-wing politicians and progressive NGOs. At rallies, […]
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, August 22nd, 2025 - 74 comments
Screaming on social media about how weak Chris Hipkins is as Labour leader may make us feel good. But It also won’t do much do push back against the Coalition of Cockups. So, what if instead of searching fruitlessly for ideological purity, we put our energy and effort into winning instead?
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