I agree that polls are not 'scientific', and are taken as a pulse at any given time period (afterall 'a week in politics is a long time'), although I'm happy to see national well ahead in the polls, I am somewhat surprised the gap is not closing over the last 4-5mths,indeed it's growing.... I'd have thought it would be only about 10pts difference and with an early election not an option for HC, is it really going to be a case of an early election to ensure they get 30% or wait and see, they may get less!

Besides, when has HC ever listened to the public's concern/hurt?, her mantra is simply throw money at the problem and they'll vote for us, seems NZ public isn't as stupid as she believes.

Colin Espiner This is just the sort of strength we need from Helen Clark. Good on her. The important point here is that the PM and Cullen and Labour continue to put through policy that will safeguard workers against a cold tide of Conservatism which does not recognise that people want a fair society for all.

Conservatism which brings unemployment, business cruelty to workers and general misogyny towards women, whether working inside or outside the home, will reign supreme once more. I thought we'd learned that lesson. Obviously I was wrong if the polls are correct. The recent attack on women's rights to own their bodies is the future once again.

If the public think that John Key is the sexiest politician they really are stupid.

Colin Espiner You are right about the youngers. They have no loyalty and they have to learn their own lessons, I guess, especially the women, about what National really stands for.

To continue your nautical metaphor there is not much point in trying to tack when becalmed in the eye of a hurricane. You may as well make the crew believe that all is well and get the lifeboat ready.

Part of the reason voters are deserting Labour is that it is perceived that after nine years many of the problems Labour set out to fix have not been fixed.

The healthcare system is as inefficient as ever and waiting lists have only been reduced by astute 'leger de main' on the part of the government. Perhaps stickers for doctors and nurses are the answer.

The education system functions as long as one does not have to sennd ones children to a state school. The laterst nonsense from the Ministry of Education hardly inspires confidence.

Whether or not it is statistically supported, many people feel increasingly unsafe.

Given all this why should Labour be given three more years? The only reason is negative; the National Party is just as likely to stuff it up and in nine years we all change captain again and tack off into another part of the hurricane.

As for Maori, why would you vote Labour, when you have the Maori Party, which I have to say is performing splendidly in terms of looking after its own contituents.

What use are the polls at the moment we still do not know anything about John Key and what he would do differently. What we do know is that he mostly agrees with Labour as he keeps voting with them. Wait until we get some policy from him and after a televised leader's debate and then the polls will tell us more truly what is happening.

The polls did not predict a labour win in 1993. They predicted a national win far bigger than actually turned out to be the case. That was why Bolger made the comment that he did.

Ann - I agree with the first part, but check back through Hansard, and you'll find that he very rarely votes along with them. There's been a bit of coverage of National supporting Labour over the last week with the Anti Tagging Bill and the Double Jeopardy thing, (I forget it's title,) and I'm sure there will be a few other cases, but most of the time, the entire National party vote against Labour. I think it's good when party loyalty is put to the side in the interest of supporting legislation that is in the interest of the public, but I don't believe that it's his habit, and I think it's more of an election year strategy, (going on the logic of "if they support the same, what's the difference?") rather than a standard mode of behaviour. Personally, I remain skeptical, both of his motives, and of the polls. I find reading Hansard to be a good way of judging politicians, as a source of their words verbatim, as opposed to reported speech, which usually gets altered via context or omission. I hope you're right about the debates telling a different story.

Ben Swallow some salt water. There, is that better? If we leave Labour now, we get the National party and its push for unemployment and cheap labour. "We would love to see wages drop" Key. Only people, who have been forced onto the unemployment through their companies being sold off or going overseas for cheap labour, know how soul destroying that is.

When a party thinks only of one section of our country like National with its wealth at any price to people and Maori with destroying New Zealand to achieve sovereignty and not a partnership with Labour, then we do face a negative future.

Certainly, the order part of law is worrying, but National's idea of building further prisons will do nothing to help. It will only bring us new criminals, versed in the art of destruction. When you come up with a plan to get rid of gangs let me know. I’ll start up the battering ram. But remember to have a corresponding plan of how to stop the gangsters drifting into them. National didn't do anything in the 90s, but make it worse. Remember that crime is down, domestic violence is up. Misogyny gaining ground I see.

ann, reading your post reminds me of that old song...'When we wish upon a star....'

Keep dreaming....no national policy release as yet as labour nicks them, re wraps them and calls them their own, now why would you show your hand when there is at most 5mths to go?

This is politics, and as Key states, quite correctly, national have released more policy at this stage in an election year than Labour did in 1999, and guess who won in 1999?

Colin, Time for a change surely. Labour have been in power too long and lost contact with the electorate. The shock advertisements on cigarettes, speeding and drinking alienate the voters who want to turn off the TV and Labour. Of course they are well intentioned but they are paternalistic and those with any sense Have already got the message and saving the the stupid from themselves is a questionable virtue. Labour are old and shop worn. A decade ago the Labour woman had a certain butch appeal. Look at the attraction to some of Julia Gillard in Australia. In the United States a women poliitican has to be over 60 and perccieved as past it to cut it but the Californai Grannies ( Boxer, Ferraro, Pelosi) and Clinton still need to be plastic sexy looking dolls. But Clark, Anette King and Daziel are now off, and there messages are mixed. Labour thought it could get away with different messages to different audiences but the public has seen through it. Labour will be doing well if it can get 29% and the Greens 7%. They should be conducting defennsiv poltics already to get the message byt are deaf. Probably Labour should have elost in 2005 but socially the message Brash and his press sec Richard Long was preaching was jsut too right wing and populist. But now.The elction cant come soon enough.