Support for the Labour Party is up 3% after Andrew Little's election as the party's leader, and backing for the National Party is down 3.5% in Roy Morgan Research's latest poll.
The poll, conducted during late November and early December, had Labour at 27%, which was up 3% in a month. National was down 3.5% to 46%.
If an election was held now, Roy Morgan said National would be comfortably re-elected.
Support for two of Prime Minister John Key’s three partners was up, with the Maori Party polling doubling to 2%, Act at 1.5% up from 1%, but Peter Dunne's United Future still at 0%.
Meanwhile, the Greens dropped 2.5% to 12%, but Winston Peters' NZ First rose 0.5% to 7%.
Colin Craig's Conservative Party, which didn't make it into Parliament in September's election, rose 0.5% to 2.5%, and the now defunct Internet-Mana Party rose 0.5% to 1%. Backing for "independent/others" came in at 1%, a decline of 0.5%, Roy Morgan said.
“Labour has enjoyed a small resurgence in support after finally selecting a new Leader, Andrew Little, following a protracted leadership election process. However, the election of Little came despite the Labour caucus in Parliament (56% Grant Robertson, 44% Andrew Little) and the Labour Party membership (55% Grand Robertson, 45% Andrew Little) both voting against Little in the final round of leadership voting," Gary Morgan, Roy Morgan's executive chairman, said.
“Little won the Labour Leadership by gaining the strong backing of the Union affiliates who supported Little (76%), Robertson (24%). The overall results meant Little (50.5%) won a very narrow majority over Robertson (49.5%) and will have to work hard to unite the party and take the fight up to incumbent National Prime Minister John Key," Morgan added.
“It is worth remembering that former leader David Cunliffe was considered by many to be too left-wing because of his strong association with the unions to be elected as Prime Minister - and so it proved at the recent NZ Election. The strong support for Little from the union movement suggests Little will also have a hard time avoiding being considered the union candidate.”
Roy Morgan also said its latest NZ Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating has risen 12 points to 138 points, which is the same level it was at immediately before the election.
"There are 62.5% (up 6.5%) of NZ electors saying NZ is ‘heading in the right direction’ compared to 24.5% (down 5.5%) that say NZ is ‘heading in the wrong direction’. New Zealand Government Confidence Rating is now substantially higher than in Australia (where) Australian Government Confidence last week was at 98 points," Roy Morgan said.
*In the opinion poll on voting intentions people were asked: “If a New Zealand election were held today which party would receive your party vote?” The poll was conducted by both landline and mobile telephone, with a NZ wide cross-section of 871 electors from November 24 to December 7, polled. Of all electors surveyed 4%, up 1.5%, didn’t name a party, Roy Morgan said.
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