I wrote a month ago about the Greens polling at 12%, which would give them 15 Green MPs, up from their current 10. It looked to me that the political courage of the Greens is working.
Unlike the chaos of the 2017 election that followed the political courage of Metiria Turei, this election has both courage and presentation of competence. The policies are solid and the MPs are putting out the message over and over and over again: vote Green for climate action, environmental protection, ending inequality.
Their key social policy of a wealth tax to pay for social security has been polling exceptionally well, and the Greens’ tax cuts are better for more people than National’s.
The Newshub-Reid poll on Monday had the Greens on 14.2%. This would give them 18 MPs. You can see who those MPs would be here. Astonishing and exciting. James Shaw sensibly tweeted, pointing immediately to what the fight is for,
The Greens on over 14% (& 18 MPs) is a really big deal, but it’s not the time to be complacent.
Party vote Green for:
Income Guarantee
Fair tax system
Free dental for ALL
Climate action
Warm homes
Ocean protection
While the MSM and politicos are busy focussing on NZ First, the left can just get on with winning the votes needed. As One Anonymous Bloke pointed out,
Reid Research polling for the 2020 election underestimated the Greens final result by 1.6% They underestimated Labour by 4.2%.
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NZ First is only just above the 5% threshold and is coming under fire for the being the kingmaker of chaos. The difficulty of polling in the Māori seats means we probably don’t know how Te Pāti Māori is doing. The Greens sometimes pick up and extra seat on the specials.
The point here is that we haven’t lost yet. There’s a temptation to throw in the towel, but many have been saying for months now that it’s going to be a very close election. What if it comes down several thousand votes or a couple of MPs and it was our willingness to hope and do the mahi that gets us over the line?
I also wrote a post a month ago about not giving up. The two week election period opens in five days, next Monday. Now is the time to up the ante.
Don’t share defeatist bollocks. It tells swing, undecided and habitual non-voters to not bother voting left.
I feel for Labourites, politics is brutal and Labour’s drop and the chaotic, depressing policy churn on the right is depressing af. I think Hipkins has made a grave error in continuing to rule out a wealth tax when a large number of voters support it.
But all is not lost. The worst case scenario here is that the left lose the election but Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori form a strong, potent opposition for the next three years and then win in 2026. Best case is that we win now! This is win/win for the next 19 days: let’s do everything we can to get us into the strongest position possible.
Things we can do below, and even just talking to whānau, friends and colleagues and reminding them why it matters and that voting makes a difference will help.
Triple the Vote! Join the movement to get non-voters to vote, and sign up to be reminded once voting starts
Volunteer or donate,
Te Pāti Māori: get involved or donate
The Greens: get involved or donate.
Labour: get involved or donate
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