Wellington: New Zealand’s ruling Labour party led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern could govern alone three weeks out from the upcoming general election slated to take place next month, a new poll revealed on Sunday.
According to the latest Newshub-Reid Research survey, Labour polled 50.1 per cent, while the main opposition National party was at 29.6 per cent, reports The New Zealand Herald newspaper.
However, Labour was down 10.8 points from the previous Newshub-Reid Research poll conducted after the first Covid outbreak when all of New Zealand was in alert level 1.
Meanwhile, Ardern remains the preferred Prime Minister for 53.2 per cent of those surveyed (down 8.8 percentage points).
While National leader Judith Collins’ popularity also witnessed an increase by 3.1 percentage points to 17.7 per cent in the preferred premier stakes.
Responding to the latest figures, Collins claimed that her internal party polling showed something different to the Newshub-Reid Research poll.
The party chief told Newshub that she was “getting a very good vibe on the ground” and wouldn’t resign if she lost the election.
The general election will be held on October 17 to determine the membership of the 53rd New Zealand Parliament.
The previous parliament was elected on September 23, 2017 and was officially dissolved on September 6 this year.
The election was initially scheduled for September 19 but was postponed due to a second Covid-19 outbreak.
