Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on National dropping below 25 percent in new RNZ-Reid Research poll

National has dropped below 25 percent in the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll, and it's sparked concerns among the party. Leader Chris Luxon broke his own rule and warned voters to not let this poll become a reality - and urged National faithful to get out and vote. The party's campaign chair, Simeon Brown, says this result indicates the election will be a close one. "It's a very stark reminder to voters - if they want to avoid a Labour-Greens coalition with Chlöe Swarbrick as the finance minister, they need to get out there and vote." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's likely two people who claim they voted more than once - which is illegal - would have been caught out even if they hadn't bragged on social media. The Electoral Commission has referred these two people to police. Constitutional law expert Graeme Edgeler says alarms are raised if a voter's name is crossed off more than once. "Someone's gonna find out, and they're going to start making inquiries - a few people do it every election, and they tend to get caught." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rollickin’ Gelato founder Jed Joyce joined John MacDonald in studio to give him a taste of the seven pun-filled flavours competing in the 2026 Rollickin’ Scoop Poll. Some of the flavours include Blueberry Lux (Christopher Luxon), Orange Choc Chippy (Chris Hipkins), and the current leader of the poll, David Smore (David Seymour). Joyce told Canterbury Mornings the Scoop Poll is all about having a bit of fun while encouraging people to vote in the upcoming election. He said his biggest takeaway from running the poll has been the chance to meet politicians in person to see what they're really like. "When you actually meet them in real life it kind of demystifies them, you see that they are just real people, and they do believe that they're making a difference in New Zealand". LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Winston Peters says the 2026 election campaign is one of the worst he's ever seen. The New Zealand First Leader told Mike Hosking on the Leaders Breakfast people are sick and tired of it – the pettiness, the diversion, the misleading representation. He says if you ask people in the audience, as he did at public meeting in the Hutt Valley last night, if they're sick and tired of it, they all put their hands up. The party is also taking its campaign directly to the people, with Winston Peters arguing packed-out town halls are the best poll there is. NZ First's been drawing big crowds around the country in recent months, taking a different approach to many of its rivals. Peters told Hosking the mainstream media has dramatically changed, and claims it now takes sides politically in the worst way he's seen. He says there's only social media, or the old fashion way of meeting locals, to fight that. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT Leader David Seymour is cautiously confident the coalition could have speedier post-election negotiations this year, compared to 2023. National, ACT, and New Zealand First took 40-days to strike a deal after the last election. Both the Leaders of National and Labour have promised to try to finish negotiations by Christmas, but no firm promises have been made. Seymour told Mike Hosking on the Leaders Breakfast he can't speak for his colleagues in NZ First or National, but they have experience on side this time. He says himself and the other party leaders all know each other and have worked together. Seymour acknowledged compromise is necessary but says their proposal to remove tax from KiwiSaver is an important aspect of their policy platform. He also made it clear though that proposals by potential partners for compulsory KiwiSaver are a "non-starter". He didn’t express regret when asked about the level of reform the Government had been unable to progress, again pointing to the need for compromise. When asked if this morning’s RNZ Reid Research poll putting National below 25% was an outlier, Seymour didn’t provide a direct answer although noted Reid Research in 2023 had National lower than what it ended up on election night. Seymour argued ACT had “come of age as a party”, lauding the efforts of his ministers in Government. He believed ACT candidate James Christmas would win the Tamaki seat and likened National’s current candidate to Simon O’Connor, who lost the long-time National seat to Brooke van Velden in 2023. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.