Election 2023: Both Chrises say they've got the edge

As Christopher Luxon boasts National's upper hand in the polls, Chris Hipkins claims Labour's got a stronger grip than expected.

Seven days out from election day, an upbeat and Covid-free Hipkins told Auckland supporters that Labour can win on October 14, despite polls showing otherwise.

1News understands Labour's internal polls show the party bouncing back up, the Labour leader teasing a surprise up his sleeve this coming week.

"I think the mood out there has shifted in the last couple of days, and I think we are going to see huge momentum in the next week behind the Labour team and we are going to win the election," Hipkins told his base.

"The centre-right bloc has been coming down, the gap between the two blocs of the parties has been narrowing week-on-week."

But National leader Luxon claims the edge still belongs to his team.

"I'm focused on the National Party and I can tell you we've got good momentum in the National Party," he told media.

The latest 1News Verian poll put National at 36% and Labour at 26%, which translates to 46 seats and 33 seats respectively.

More on this topic

Poll: 'Just being me' - Why Christopher Luxon thinks he's on the up

For the first time, the National Party leader tops the 1News Verian preferred prime minister ratings.

Politics

October 4, 2023

Re-energised Hipkins returns to campaign trail after Covid

Labour's leader left isolation today after testing positive for the virus on Sunday.

Politics

October 6, 2023

4:08

When considering coalition partners, the poll put a National-ACT alignment at 59 seats and a Labour-Green-Te Pāti Māori team-up at 53, neither able to reach the 61 seats needed to form a government.

New Zealand First, scoring 6% in the poll, was given the remaining 8 seats.