From Friday 1 May 2026, no‑fault evictions are finally banned in England. The end of Section 21 marks a hard‑won victory for renters after years of campaigning, organising, and living under the constant threat of being forced from our homes without explanation. This change did not happen by accident — it happened because tenants, housing activists and communities refused to accept a system stacked against them.
The resurgence of the tax debate reflects impacts of neo-liberal economic policy and developments in the global economy over the last half century. As Labour considers further its approach to tax policy, this wider context should be considered
30 years ago, we had Dot Matrix printers, Windows 95 and brick cell phones. Today we live in a world of AI, Tik Tok and 5G. While technology changes have been embraced, including in political campaigns, strategies and methods to connect with voters seem stuck in the MS-DOSS era.
In parliamentary politics, there are no final victories. After losing the 2023 election, Labour must now immediately focus on winning in 2026.
Watching the 2023 election campaign in New Zealand, one of Labour’s challenges appears to be that it has failed to manage voters’ expectations over the last six years. Recalling the election campaign in 2017, Jacinda Ardern gave people hope that politics could be different. However government is about handling problems – like building at scale and pandemics.
The latest One News Kantar Poll result has been released and it is a doozie.
The 2020 election was more than just a victory for Labour and more than a crushing defeat for the National Party (New Zealand’s main centre-right political party). This result marks a significant watershed in New Zealand politics which will likely have implications long after this parliamentary term.
The latest Rogue Poll™ is out. This time it’s UMR’s turn and Judith Collins is on the rise.
Immigration Minister Iain Lees Galloway has apparently resigned.
UPDATE: The PM confirms that she has sacked the Minister. He will not stand in the Palmerston North seat in the upcoming general election.
UPDATE: Iain Lees Galloway releases an apology.
The Auckland Central electorate will elect a new MP in September. The Greens have a responsibility to make sure it’s the Labour candidate.
The latest Roy Morgan Poll is further bad news for National and a stark warning for NZ First.
The Serious Fraud Office has commenced an investigation in relation to donations made in 2017 to the Labour Party.
UPDATE: The investigation may involve donations made at a ‘silent’ art auction, something that Labour was upfront about back in February.
The Labour Party has released its list lineup. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to refresh the caucus, and it’s down to one leader’s sacrifice and another’s steller performance.
Here’s your chance to vote in the Standard’s Politician of The Year awards. The SPOTY’s are recognised worldwide as the leading indicator of political success in NZ and have been awarded annually for over two hundred years.
Now it’s your turn to prick the Thorndon Bubble, dear reader. Who’s your Politician of the Year?
The Labour Party sponsored amendments to the Employment Relations Act are a step closer to becoming law. That’s a good thing for working people and a good thing for coalition politics.
Forward In 2016 I wrote the below dissertation as part of my History Honours degree at Victoria University. This dissertation explores the 1950s […]
Jacinda Ardern has set out an ambitious list of actions for Labour’s first 100 days, including banning foreign, non-resident house buyers by Christmas through an urgent law change.
While National revert to type with populist scaremongering, Labour is getting on with the business of releasing practical policy that supports real people and addresses real problems.
Liberals depart and Liberals tank.
As the Nats stand exposed in another apparent dirty politics hit, Labour gets on with the job of winning the election. Jacinda Ardern today announced new policy: Making tertiary education and training affordable for all.
Key: “The camera likes Jacinda. Paul Holmes once said to me ‘on TV they see your heart’ – she responds well to that so that works really well for her…”, “Labour made the right decision to make Jacinda Ardern leader”
I enjoy a ray of hope as much as the next leftie, and Jacinda Ardern is off to an incredible start, but let’s not burden her with impossible expectations.
With donations and volunteers flooding in, I think it’s fair to say that reaction to Jacinda Ardern has exceeded all expectations. Why was this leadership change different? Two reasons…
Changing leaders this close to an election was a political gamble for Labour, but it has already paid off. The commentary is almost universally positive, the reviews for Ardern are glowing. Donations are flowing in. Activists are energised and people are talking.
Well, now they have them. But…
The livestream is over. A very impressive performance from Jacinda Ardern.
Unlike lprent I am not discouraged by Little stepping down. New leadership is a real opportunity for Labour. Little: “As leader, I must take responsibility for these results. I do take responsibility and believe that Labour must have an opportunity to perform better under new leadership through to the election.”
Andrew Little has stepped down – expects Jacinda to replace him.
Auckland City Councilor Richard Hills yesterday tweeted some of the things we would like to see fixed before a tax cut. You might want to add to the list. Good thing Labour is promising to cancel the cuts and spend billions more on health and education.
According to Morning Report the Nats are calling Labour’s budget for more spending on health and education “a plan to waste more money”. Tell it to the people who can’t afford private alternatives and depend on the public systems.
Labour has just released costed details of its comprehensive plan to put $8b more over four years into health and $4b into education. Excellent.
Herald editorial: “Credit where it is due. It takes courage to say that if elected, you will cancel a tax cut. … In doing so it has presented the voters with a clear choice which, for those without young families or earning above the income limits, will mean deciding whether to take the tax cut or give the benefit to children of the less well off.”
As covered by Vernon Small on Stuff: “Labour is promising to scrap National’s Budget tax cut plan. Instead it will funnel the cash into higher Working for Families payments and extra help for those with young children. It’s a package it says will deliver up to $48 a week extra to middle income families.”
On first impressions Labour has done a good job of trying to balance the needs: to acknowledge the positive role of immigration in NZ, slow down immigration while infrastructure catches up, and target immigration effectively.
