There is something pathetic about the Labour Party’s efforts to re-position itself after its worst defeat in modern history. From being the only party since the introduction of MMP to win an outright majority in Parliament it slumped last year to a total vote of not much more than 25% overall. Labour’s Auckland results were catastrophic. The party lost the electorate of New Lynn which had been solidly Labour since a by-election in 1926, and Roskill that had been in Labour’s hands for nearly all the time since 1931. Labour came within an ace of losing Mt Albert which Jacinda Ardern had retained in 2020 with a 20,000 majority. Its lack lustre new MP seemed bewildered by her near encounter with the political guillotine.
