Dr James Allan: Just Repeal and Undo

How many readers have noticed this huge failing in so many longstanding, establishment conservative political parties around the democratic world? To start, the Left side of politics when in power will seed or remake some institution. Or it will enact some big-ticket legislative reform. Maybe it’s bringing into being a beefed-up, more potent and renamed Australian Human Rights Commission. Maybe it’s enacting a statutory bill of rights in Victoria, in Queensland, in New Zealand, in Britain.

Dr Noah Carl: Has Britain Shifted to the Right?

Since the 2024 election and the dramatic rise of Reform, numerous commentators have argued that Britain is ‘shifting to the Right’. And you can see where they are coming from.

Reform is the most right-wing party Britain has had since the BNP contested the 2010 election, and it has led in every single poll since April of 2025. Over the last six months or so, 30% of prospective voters have said they would back Reform — about 10 points more than have said they would back Labour, the next most popular party.

NZCPR Newsletter: Losing Trust

The latest polls show the Coalition is failing to capture the hearts and minds of voters. Roy Morgan tells the story: support for National was down 2 percentage points from a month ago to 29 percent, ACT was unchanged on 10.5 and New Zealand First dropped 2.5 to 7.

In comparison, Labour increased 3 to 34, the Greens were up 2 to 13.5, while the Maori Party dropped 1 to 2.5 percent.

In other words, if an election was held tomorrow, Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party would be in government with 50 percent of the vote - up 4. The Coalition would be relegated to the opposition benches with 46.5 percent, down 4.5 to its lowest level of support this year.

So, what’s going on? Why aren’t the Coalition’s efforts to repair the damage created by that disastrous two-term Labour Government resonating more strongly with voters?

More importantly, why aren’t voters terrified of the prospect of being governed by the toxic trio - the grossly incompetent Labour Party, the extremist Greens, and the racist Maori Party?

NZCPR Newsletter: The State of Local Government

Local Government is in crisis. The numbers tell the story: local authority rates increased 12.2 percent in the 12 months to the March 2025 quarter – a 14 percent contribution to the 2.5 percent annual increase in inflation. As a result of the reckless spending of local authorities, interest rates are staying higher for longer, with all New Zealanders paying the price.

So why have local authorities gone off the rails?