English – “8 months to answer Labour’s challenge”

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, February 7th, 2017 - 21 comments
Categories: bill english, leadership - Tags:

Interesting anonymous Herald editorial in the weekend:

Editorial: Bill English has 8 months to answer Labour’s challenge
…
Little’s speech contained a challenging line that the country had a new Prime Minister but not a leader. He cited English’s absence from Waitangi, his ducking the Mt Albert byelection and failure to fire a “failed” housing minister, Nick Smith. But what Little really meant was, English is still following in the footsteps of Key. Little will be hoping English will take the bait and do something to distinguish himself from National’s sure-footed previous leader.
…
Continuing strong immigration requires infrastructure and public services to keep pace. That was one of the reasons English gave for the boost in police numbers that he made the centrepiece of his “State of the Nation” speech this week.

But more police was not exactly an electrifying idea from a new Prime Minister. It would be good to see an initiative on housing affordability, which could be the big issue at the election, especially if interest rates are rising steadily. As finance minister, English re-aligned social spending to measurable reductions in state dependence and long term fiscal savings. As Prime Minister he can hang his hat on that effort but needs to make it more visible to voters. He has eight months to do something distinctive.

Read the full piece, and then check out Mediawatch:

PM’s media honeymoon is over

Dealing with the media will be a big part of Bill English’s job in election year. Mediawatch looks at the curly questions from the media that brought his short political honeymoon to an abrupt end.

Ouch!

21 comments on “English – “8 months to answer Labour’s challenge” ”

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  1. Nick 1
    7 February 2017 at 7:56 am

    8 months left and then you’re gone blinglish…..

    • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1
      7 February 2017 at 7:58 am

      Nah, he’ll keep on feeding on taxpayers. He doesn’t know how to do anything else.

  2. jcuknz 2
    7 February 2017 at 9:15 am

    Little has done little to suggest changing horses is a good idea 🙂

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1
      7 February 2017 at 9:25 am

      Zero credibility advice is so hard to ignore, but we’ll manage, thanks.

    • michelle 2.2
      7 February 2017 at 10:35 am

      We are not changing horses we have the same horse with a different jockey and we don’t want the same horse . Bills lolly scramble is 9 years too late no good saying and acting like you care after nine years of your selling our assets, bringing in cheap labour, privatising education and our social services and prisons it time for them (the tories ) to go

  3. tc 3
    7 February 2017 at 9:59 am

    IMO he’s not there to answer any challenge it’s a simple 3 point approach from the backers;

    Keep the shop open, there’s business to complete. Snip here, rule change there etc

    You’re PM now bill, as promised for doing all the hard yards through 8+ yrs of plunder

    The jobs nearly done so enjoy it and ffs don’t do anything stupid oh and thanks for the state houses, you didn’t have to but thanks anyway.

  4. AB 4
    7 February 2017 at 10:02 am

    Dipper is part of the problem and is incapable and totally opposed to providing any real solutions. He is simply doing what the National Party always does – protects and enhances existing wealth and power.
    Time for a concerted and conscious redistribution of wealth and power downwards.

  5. Cinny 5
    7 February 2017 at 10:13 am

    Been waiting for almost a decade for NZ to have a PM that we can be proud of.

    2016 was a year for closure, and we all saw that, Key quit and around 10 of the outgoing governments MPs have said they won’t be standing for re-election.

    2017 was and is going to be a year of great change, we are seeing it already. And one day after the Spring Equinox we will witness even more great change.

    With the election date announced, one would think that the outgoing PM would have already selected replacements for his exiting MP’s.

    I’m always a bit suspicious of MP’s leaving ‘for family reasons’, especially so many of them all from one party.

    Bye, bye Bill we all know you don’t want to be where you are, after all in 2014 you retired as an electorate MP, were you not planning to stand in this years election?

  6. Barfly 6
    7 February 2017 at 11:21 am

    Bill English now has 8 months sycophantic NZ Herald support to try to lead the country further into the mire.

  7. Antoine 7
    7 February 2017 at 1:00 pm

    Genius really. “Politician will want to become more popular before election”, who’d have thought it?

    A.

  8. Michael who failed Civics 8
    7 February 2017 at 1:03 pm

    What “Labour challenge”? If only it was. Instead, it’s just more status quo neoliberalism. As a result, people can’t tell the difference between Labour and National (Coke v Pepsi) and either won’t change their votes or won’t vote at all. I’m sure you’re all aware that the total “non-vote” at the last election was greater than Labour’s Party Vote and almost as high as National’s. I gather Labour can’t be arsed about non-voters any more and accepts their permanent alienation from our political system; instead it calculates it (with a little help from the Greens and Winston) can lure a couple of hundred thousand fickle middle-class voters, obsessed about house prices or something equally existential, to tick the box next to their logo. Good luck with that but don’t ever imagine that you’re a popular choice.

  9. mosa 9
    7 February 2017 at 1:23 pm

    Bills big budget in May will be an election decider.

    English and Joyce will make the money available to tempt the always greedy Kiwi voter.

    I hope Little and Labour can respond to what will be a big lolly scramble.

    Housing alone won’t do it.

    And the media is NOT on side.

    • michelle 9.1
      7 February 2017 at 3:38 pm

      Of course Andrew can respond he can say for starters that he can spend the surplus of 2-3 billions that Billy intends on using to try and bribe dumb NZers with. Where is the money will be easy to answer this election years as it is sitting in our government accounts while people have been suffering and going without nice one Billy your a gone burger

  10. Greg 10
    7 February 2017 at 2:16 pm

    No hes got eight mouths. To deliver the brighter future as promised by national .
    National are into there 9th year times up time to deliver or we will foreclose on there futures

  11. Observer Tokeroa 11
    7 February 2017 at 2:51 pm

    So: The Herald Nurses Billy

    But Bill English knows what has to be done. He has been tutored for most of his life.

    His job is to make sure that he makes the Wealthy more Wealthy.

    It is his calling. He will not fail. If he falters in the least little bit, the big boot of Paula will be directed to his obedient ass. If that should fail, then the Crusher will call on the Boag and they will together break his every bone.

  12. Observer Tokoroa 12
    7 February 2017 at 3:10 pm

    So: The Herald is Nursing the PM

    However Billy won’t need the Nurse. He has been tutored and prepared for nearly the whole of his life.

    All he must do is make the Wealthy more Wealthy.

    He has no other duty or aspiration or intention. Should he falter even for a second Paula would sink her already feared heavy boot into his Ass. Crusher with the help of the Boag would break every bone in his body.

    It’s a Rich Girl’s World.