National’s reshuffle
Simon Bridges had the chance to show leadership yesterday, cement his leadership of the National caucus, reward on talent and hard work and seek to unite a caucus that clearly has a few problems. How did he do?
paul goldsmith
Hoax video of Paul Goldsmith starts circulating on the Internet
Surely it cannot be real …
Who will be National’s next leader?
Following Bill English’s resignation the question is who will be National’s next leaders. The Standard authors have put their heads together and come up with some suggestions.
Darren Watson has a message for Epsom Greens and Reds
You just have to hold your nose and electorate vote Goldsmith …
This is how you change the Government – electorate vote Goldsmith if you are on the Epsom roll
For progressive Epsom voters the best way to change the Government may be to give your electorate vote to Paul Goldsmith.
Nat insults Indian community
Lots of big stuff going on at the moment, but other stories are significant too. The extent of the coverage of this blunder will be worrying the Nats.
Cluster f*&k on cluster bombs
The Government is refusing to accept there are legal issues with Kiwisaver providers investing in manufacturers of cluster bombs. But it is also not ruling out there may be a problem.
Mossack Fonseca bites National on the arse
John Key is facing some problems describing how a Mossack Fonseca company ended up owning a New Zealand farm and how after his lawyer asked the Government not to change the rules surrounding foreign trusts the Government moved to make sure that no rule change would occur.
Seat Watch – Epsom
Who will win Epsom? Will enough people rebel at John Key’s instruction to vote for the ACT candidate or will ACT’s extreme policies and Jaime Whyte’s weirdness mean that the people of Epsom will rebel and vote for Paul Goldsmith? Updated: Early, but the Act guy ahead.
Outlawing Begging
Ironically during the week of Auckland’s big sleep out there has been a proposal to change Auckland Council’s by laws to provide for […]
The Goldsmith Gambit
This will be one of the dirtiest political and anti-democratic tactics ever designed in NZ history. It has the potential of delivering a second John Key term, gifting Epsom to ACT and of discrediting MMP in one foul swoop: a true Tory Trifecta.
New Goldsmith signs go up
Apparently, Paul Goldsmith is not even handing out his business card in Epsom any more. And Imperator Fish reports on the extreme lengths he is going to in an effort to lose. But his popularity cannot be quelled. #hipstersforgoldsmith is big on Twitter. And new, completely legal, campaign posters are sprouting up. Can’t wait for Goldsmith’s victory party.
Interesting poll results
Minor Leaders’ debate: Winston Peters 36%, Hone Harawira 27%, Don Brash 14%.
Fairfax Epsom poll: Paul Goldsmith 45.5%, John Banks 29.1%.
Impact of Key endorsement: More likely to vote Banks 23%, Less likely 30%.
Taranaki Daily news debate exit poll: Andrew Little 64.5%, Jonathan Young 28%.
Goldsmith removing Goldsmith signs
Most politicians crave attention, especially when they’re trying to win an electorate. Not so National’s Paul Goldsmith! A Standard reader snapped these pictures of Goldsmith removing (apparently “unofficial”) Goldsmith electoral signs. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want to get elected!
Leaks and leaks
As more oil leaks from the Rena, National’s beginning to leak too. I’ve just been hearing about their latest internal polling, and it ain’t pretty. As the earlier Horizon poll suggested, the Rena has been an inflection point for National and the masses of soft support they’ve accumulated is drifting away.
Death cab for Banksie
Another Epsom poll has ACT’ stuffed. Goldsmith: 37%; Banks: 24%; Parker: 17%. However, it also says the blue-rinsers will obediently tick Banks if Key explicitly tells them to. But will he? Will the chance of saving 2% ACT be worth the nationwide loss of votes from linking Key’s brand to that mess of a party? His equivocating suggests the Nats haven’t decided.
Clusterf*ck in Epsom
It looks like the race for Epsom is about to get a whole lot more exciting. Former ACT funder Colin Craig seems set to throw his hat into the ring against ACT’s John Banks, National’s Paul Goldsmith, and Labour’s David Parker. It only needs Winnie to join in to make a real party of it. Can Parker slip through the middle and win?