Written By: - Date published: 10:04 pm, June 10th, 2024 - 12 comments
The UK still has the First Past the Post Electoral system. Something New Zealand should have absolutely no nostalgia for. This means that, while the campaign is UK-wide, a lot of campaign activity is directed into constituencies that are deemed marginal. In marginal constituencies, a General Election brings a conveyor belt of the good and the great supporting their prospective parliamentary candidate. In “safe seats” voters get much less attention.
Written By: - Date published: 4:44 am, June 2nd, 2024 - 10 comments
I attended Faiza Shaheen’s impressive candidate launch in Chingford four years ago. She aimed to take on IDS and she dented his majority. Reselected two years ago by the local Labour Party, four days ago she was deselected by a 3-person kangaroo court from the party’s National Executive Committee.
Update: Faiza Shaheen to stand as an independent in Chingford.
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 pm, December 14th, 2023 - 40 comments
A notably different approach to sequencing political comeback was on show at the VUW post-election seminar last week. Luxon put rebuilding the party first, Hipkins put it last. On policy Luxon was bottom-up and early, Hipkins was top-down and late.
Written By: - Date published: 8:02 pm, November 7th, 2023 - 53 comments
It was never going to be anything else, but two positive emerged. All policy options are back on the table, including tax, and there is a realisation that the main task ahead is to rebuild a strong and progressive party.
Written By: - Date published: 4:43 pm, November 2nd, 2023 - 18 comments
In 2021, I voted against Labour’s conference proposal for midstream leadership change to be determined by Caucus alone, saying that it risked Labour becoming a cadre party for elites. A series of posts will start with why the Caucus should not rush to a leadership vote.
Written By: - Date published: 6:03 am, October 17th, 2023 - 45 comments
In parliamentary politics, there are no final victories. After losing the 2023 election, Labour must now immediately focus on winning in 2026.
Written By: - Date published: 6:01 am, September 20th, 2023 - 15 comments
From the outside, the New Zealand 2023 General Election seems both lacklustre and slightly strange. The Labour Government, having won a huge majority in 2020 is now fighting for its political life. Yet National, the main centre-right opposition party is still on average polling significantly worse now than they were when it lost power in 2017.
Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, January 3rd, 2023 - 41 comments
There are no single truths in politics and wicked problems have no easy solutions if at all.
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 pm, August 1st, 2022 - 13 comments
The latest attempt to construct a sensible political donations regime will likely again prove to be full of holes. Going back to basics would be much better. The good news is that the basics were comprehensively assessed 36 years ago by the 1986 Royal Commission on Electoral Reform. It recommended state funding.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, December 24th, 2020 - 30 comments
Do you reward rage with rage or do you ignore it and walk away quietly?
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, May 19th, 2020 - 53 comments
The latest Newshub/Reid Research poll is a bloodbath for National- but who are the likely victims? Pollwatch is back, this time with a model for electorate winners and losers to add onto the party vote stats.
Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, April 9th, 2020 - 124 comments
National is trying to steal show political leadership and relevance by launching a petition.
Addendum added
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 pm, March 10th, 2020 - 60 comments
That’s not a request by the way. This post is a kind of “confessions of a cynic who allowed optimism to creep up and have a hand in thought processes” post.
Written By: - Date published: 1:51 pm, December 4th, 2019 - 11 comments
I’ve always liked Punch magazine’s famous cartoon “True humility” where the curate assures his bishop noticing his bad egg that parts of it are excellent. Most discussion on Little’s Bill has focused on the bad bits regarding foreign donations. The good bit requires all political ads online to be attributed.
Written By: - Date published: 1:32 pm, November 16th, 2019 - 50 comments
The referendums on two contentious issues could cloud and crowd out the General Election.
Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, July 1st, 2019 - 30 comments
A review of the use of social media has suggested that the Brexit Party’s campaign was far superior to that of its opponents.
Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, August 28th, 2018 - 3 comments
Forward In 2016 I wrote the below dissertation as part of my History Honours degree at Victoria University. This dissertation explores the 1950s equal pay campaign, and specifically looks at the Jean Parker Case. Jean Parker was a PSA member employed at IRD, who like Kristine Bartlett 60 years later, won a landmark equal pay legal […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, August 6th, 2018 - 32 comments
If we’re living in a global village, is the name of the village Hamelin?
Written By: - Date published: 7:59 am, April 17th, 2018 - 86 comments
Labour and National have both selected their candidates for the Northcote by election. Labour’s candidate is Shanan Halbert who cut significantly into Jonathan Coleman’s majority at the last election.
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, February 13th, 2018 - 41 comments
Because words matter.
Written By: - Date published: 12:13 pm, September 19th, 2017 - 49 comments
Deliberately pitting Kiwis against Kiwis so he can retain power may be his worst action so far. Worse than engaging lawyers and accountants to rort $900 a week. Worse than deliberately lying about the “hole” when he ran zero budgets himself in 2014 and 2015 Worse than writing a cheque to a wealthy Saudi business […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, September 11th, 2017 - 32 comments
For progressive Epsom voters the best way to change the Government may be to give your electorate vote to Paul Goldsmith.
Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, September 1st, 2017 - 6 comments
The first of what will be a series of posts on practical steps that people can take to elect a progressive Government. In this post the importance of getting as many people enrolled as possible.
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, August 22nd, 2017 - 34 comments
National’s supposedly well oiled campaign machine is resembling an episode of the Thick of It rather than a Crosby Textor training video.
Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, August 13th, 2017 - 28 comments
The Green party resets its election campaign.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, June 27th, 2017 - 52 comments
Ad explores the implications of the Americas Cup win for this year’s election.
Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, June 8th, 2017 - 27 comments
Latest polls and some anecdotal evidence from the doorstep are showing a move back to the Tories in Britain. If so it may in part be due to last-minute dark and dirty personally targeted Facebook advertising to voters in marginal seats. They cost so will need to be watched later on here.
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, May 21st, 2017 - 66 comments
And in the United Kingdom the election that was meant to be a foregone conclusion suddenly is suddenly tightening.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, February 10th, 2017 - 33 comments
The Herald informs us that Key is going on the speaking circuit and will go back into finance (not that he ever left). Like John Howard before him, he also intends to carry on chairing the International Democratic Union of right-wing parties. Not a surprise.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, January 13th, 2017 - 239 comments
A guest post by Labour Activist Enzo Giordani on what Labour needs to do this year to win the election.
Written By: - Date published: 9:26 pm, December 17th, 2016 - 33 comments
There’s a lot of it around. The Democrats and their media and spook allies are in a complete lather over Putin’s supposed personal influence in the US election. Confident of victory and its spoils up till midday on election day, the Clinton team are incapable of assessing just what a debacle of a campaign they ran, still less what they need to do now. Lessons abound.
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