Leaked poll: National under 30%, Labour at 55%

Photos: Getty Images/NZME
Photos: Getty Images/NZME
The National Party has dropped below 30 per cent in a UMR poll while Labour has reached as high as 55 per cent.

And when it comes to preferred Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern has reached a near record-breaking 65 per cent approval rating.

Her popularity eclipses that of her National Party rival, Opposition leader Simon Bridges, who is on a mere 7 per cent.

It is understood the poll was conducted by Labour's polling company UMR for its corporate clients, who paid UMR for a monthly snapshot of the political scene.

The results have been confirmed to the Herald by a number of different sources.

At 55 per cent, Labour would be able to form a government by itself.

The UMR poll shows the Greens are on 5 per cent and New Zealand First – Labour's Coalition partners – on 6 per cent. The poll shows that the Act Party are on 3%.

National, however, is at 29 per cent in the poll – its lowest polled number in more than a decade.

The poll shows that National's Judith Collins and Bridges are neck-and-neck when it comes to preferred Prime Minister, both at 7 per cent.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is at 3 per cent.

Polling under 30 per cent is a huge physiological barrier for National and means many of their current list MPs would lose their jobs at this year's election.

It comes as Bridges faces waves of criticism over his response to the Government's decision to extend the level 4 lockdown.

The criticism came from both his own MPs – leaking their frustration anonymously to media – and from his supporters, who rallied against him in a Facebook post with 30,000 comments.

Meanwhile, National MPs have been leaking information about a letter veteran MP Nick Smith sent to Bridges – in which he copied in the entire caucus – complaining about decisions made around the new Covid-19 policy committee.

Bridges said early this week that he would "absolutely" be National's leader come September 19.

He said he wasn't focused on leaks, but wanted to focus on the party's Covid-19 response.

At the same time, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been praised both in New Zealand and overseas for her leadership during Covid-19.

The Financial Times called her "Saint Jacinda" and the Washington Post said that New Zealand was "squashing it".