Labour faithful feeling buoyant about party's election prospects

Labour Party members are buoyant about their chances this election, with the party in the lead in the polls and finally rolling out policy.

By Giles Dexter of RNZ

Labour is holding its two-day annual conference - called a congress in election years - in Wellington this weekend.

One week ago, at National's conference, RNZ spoke to National members about their party's fortunes.

This weekend it's Labour faithful saying they're going into the election campaign "optimistic".

Despite a five-point dip, Labour was still ahead of National in the latest 1News Verian poll released on Tuesday, which showed the left bloc would have the numbers to form a government.

But Labour members at the conference were somewhat reluctant to talk about those numbers.

"The polls are very much about election day, that's all we're focused on, is winning the election," one said.

"But the polls are looking good for Labour, on and off, and yeah, we're out to win," she added.

Another member said the mood was "positive and confident" and wanted to see the party keep that momentum.

"We're four or five months out, but I think we need to, the party itself, all the membership, let's all get together," he said.

"I think it's positive. Moving on, we've got to be positive, no looking back, it's got to be: 'What are we going to do?'"

One member who told RNZ he had lost his freezing works job in the 1980s, said he sympathised with others who had been laid off in the past couple of years.

He felt other parties were too focused on money, instead of people.

"That's why I came here, because it's people that are important. Just seeing there's so many people [who have] lost their job or going to lose their job, that makes me sad," he said.

The member said the feeling in the party was "very happy" and excited.

"Change is coming, and it'll be fantastic."

For much of 2025, and the start of 2026, Labour faced criticism for keeping quiet on the policy front.

But of late, the party is putting out policies at a rate of around one a week.

Its policies in the health space include free doctor's visits, free cervical screening, free prescriptions, and free maternity scans - all expected to be paid for by the party's capital gains tax.

Labour has also announced a public transport fare cap, and a Crown guarantee scheme for Community Housing Funding Agency social bonds.

Meanwhile, in the last week, National has announced its KiwiSaver policy, and a low-cost loan scheme for solar power.

Both of those would appear to be traditional Labour ground, and while it has promised to unveil its own KiwiSaver and solar policies, National has got in early and thrown down the gauntlet.

One member said he wasn't too concerned about National muscling in.

"I think they are trying to steal policy from other parties right now. I think they're trying to copy what others are doing because they don't have any original ideas," he said.

The member said the vibe of the party was "going well", and while there was a drive to change the government he wanted to see more policy from Labour.

"I think we just need more policy at the moment, which we're doing, you know. There's going to be more policy in the coming weeks. But I think if we announce more, I think there might be more of a push right now," he said.

"I think we just need to announce a bit more, so people know what to expect."

Another member wanted to see more policies in the tech space.

She said the party had "consolidated itself" since losing power in 2023.

On Saturday, party president Jill Day said she had asked the membership "what is your why?" - and received many different responses.

What united them, she said, were core values around looking after one another.

Members also heard from deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni and finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds, who both said the upcoming election will 'define the country' for years to come.

Both spoke about the values Labour will run on, with Edmonds saying as finance minister her numbers would 'stack up'.

Sepuloni reiterated Labour would reverse the current government's pay equity changes, although Labour has still been unable to say how this would be paid for.

A panel of new candidates also spoke to the membership, to speak about why they were running and their values.

The panel included Kāpiti candidate Sophie Handford, Te Tai Tonga candidate Mananui Ramsden, North Shore candidate Sam Collins, Taupō candidate Chris Flatt, and Upper Harbour candidate Hannah Pia Baral.

Handford and Flatt are both high enough on Labour's list to be likely to enter Parliament regardless of whether they win their electorates, while Ramsden is running a seat-only campaign.

With Te Tai Tonga also incorporating Wellington, Ramsden in particular was doing his best to work the crowd, his team selling poi that made their way into many a social media video.

At 45 and 63 on the list respectively, Baral and Collins would need to win their seats - both seen as safe National seats - to enter Parliament.

The congress has been a largely closed-off affair for media. Speeches from campaign chair Kieran McAnulty and Māori campaign chair Willie Jackson were closed, as were all of the sessions in the afternoon.

RNZ has seen a copy of the run sheet, which mostly focused on campaigning and logistics. There were also breakout sessions on social media use and managing "difficult conversations" on the campaign trail.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins will address members on Sunday afternoon, and is expected to announce a policy.