As usual, Labour are offering crumbs;
The absolute minimum they could possibly do without repeating 2023's failures, of principle *and* strategy, and promising nothing. Like their GST-off-this-and-that plan this is a patch on a hemorrhage, dressed up as ambitious policy.
If this is typical of what Labour plan to offer for 2026, they deserve to lose. Even if the rest of us don't deserve 3 more years of CLuxon's clowns.
Your thinking is far too binary:
*Labour deserves to lose to Greens and become the junior coalition partner in the next government.
@jeremy_pm
> Labour deserves to lose to Greens
We can all dream. In 1996 I really thought the Cannabis party would get 5%. In 2014 I thought the Internet MANA alliance would get 5%. And sure I'd love to think the Greens could leapfrog Labour in 2026.
Never say never. But the polling trend for 2026 is *not* looking promising.
I do agree with you both (and Chlöe) that this is the long game now. Labour are a spent force, hamstrung by a neoliberal rump they can't seem to shake off.
(1/2)
@lightweight @jeremy_pm All I can say to that is, good luck. I'll be happy if that surge in UK Greens polling translates into winning seats in an FPP election. I'd be thrilled if the same Green surge happened here. But I see little sign of that so far, and I'm not holding my breath.
(2/2)
Especially while we've got an ultraconservative regime engaged in active voter suppression. In a transparently cynical attempt to keep themselves in power at any cost.
If they succeed, this will hurt small parties more. So Labour are unlikely to put up more than finger-wagging resistence to it. Even though they could probably defeat it if they gave their blessing to affiliated unions to mobilise against it en masse.
Now if the Greens could get the missing million on the roll early ...
Side note: with all due respect to Marama, I think she'd give the Greens their best chance of eclipsing Labour by standing down as co-leader. Soon enough for a new Māori co-leader to step up before the end of the year.
I went to the Greens budget roadshop in The Tron with Marama as MC. She clearly still cares but she's just as clearly exhausted and dialing it in. She needs to let herself rest, and make space for someone who's firing on all cylinders. The caucus is not short of Māori talent.
@lightweight @jeremy_pm One more thing, if you look at the trend across all polls since the start of the year;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Graph_of_opinion_polls_by_party..svg
... both Greens and TPM (and TOP) have been steadily losing ground, to the benefit of Labour, NZ First and the Nats. The tide looks to be going out on progressive parties in NZ right now. Also, 3 of the last 5 polls do show the left block ahead, but only 1 by more than the margin of error.
A week is a long time in politics and all that, but ...
Strypey
JeremyJupiterJones 
Dave Lane 
🇳🇿