How the Left could form a Government without Winston Peters

The Newshub-Reid Research poll is out, and National should be nervous. But one other party should be just as nervous as National - New Zealand First.

The Left could rise, and could form a Government without Winston Peters.

Over the course of just one month, Labour has risen 15.3 percent, to 39.4 percent. While Labour's rise has come at the expense of minor parties, it's given the Left room to consider the possibility of ruling without Mr Peters.

Between them, Labour, the Greens and the Māori Party would need to scrape just two seats off any of the other parties and they'd be able to form a Government.

Labour, the Māori Party and the Greens would get 59 seats.
Labour, the Māori Party and the Greens would get 59 seats. Photo credit: Newshub.

If Labour continues to stomp around the centre and keeps to its upward trend, it could easily take those seats off New Zealand First and National.

The Newshub Reid Research poll results.
The Newshub Reid Research poll results. Photo credit: Newshub.

Sole co-leader of the Green Party James Shaw is pretty happy with that prospect.

"That's pretty exciting news for a lot of people," Mr Shaw told Newshub.

"New Zealand now has the opportunity to have the most environmentally friendly, most progressive Government ever, and only a vote for the Green Party, and the Green Party being at the heart of that, will ensure that, because a New Zealand First-Labour Government is not that."

Mr Shaw says there's a lot of alignment on policy between the Māori and Green Party. The Labour-Greens-Māori Party bloc would all extend access to te reo Māori, would like a rental warrant of fitness and would not abolish Māori seats.

Māori Party co-leader Marama Fox told Newshub Mr Peters would take Māori back centuries and she would be pleased to form a Government without him.

"I'm sure the whole of New Zealand will be pleased to hear that and pretty sure the respective governments - either left or right - would be pleased to hear that as well.

"If the Māori Party can facilitate that, that would be preferable to us, considering Winston wants to get rid of the Māori seats, get rid of the Māori language, get rid of the Treaty of Waitangi and pretty much put Māori back in the box of the age of colonisation."

Newshub.