Labour painting Dunedin red - Woodhouse points to 'internal issues'

Labour is heading towards a smashing victory in Dunedin, with the Greens second in the party vote. And Taieri - picked as a tight electorate - is not even close. 

With 23.7% of the vote counted Ingrid Leary(5505) was comfortably beating Liam Kernaghan (2554) in Taieri. Labour was on 60.6% and National 20.4%

In Dunedin with 38.7% of the vote counted David Clark (12,246) had three times the vote of Michael Woodhouse (4019). Labour is on 54.4% with the Green Party second on 20.7%

Dunedin National candidate Michael Woodhouse admitted the tide was "stronger than we expected".

He put it down to Covid-19.

"Our own internal issues have not helped."

Despite not having the best term David Clark is heading towards a smashing victory in Dunedin....
Despite not having the best term David Clark is heading towards a smashing victory in Dunedin. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery
There is a festive mood at Labour MP David Clark's party at Petri Dish as loyalists begin to appreciate how large the swing to their party might be.

“I just can’t believe that we’re beating Gerry Brownlee in Ilam,” one man said.

A huge cheer went up when the television showed Liz Craig leading early on in Invercargill, but party strategists were turning their heads to a fresh possibility— Labour might win so many electorates some of its list candidates, such as Dunedin’s Rachel Brooking, might not make it to Parliament.