Latest poll shows neither side of Parliament has strong support

Tuesday, 12 May 2026

PM Christopher Luxon has reclaimed the title as most preferred prime minister.

The latest political poll shows the coalition Government has a small lead over the Opposition bloc, but neither side has particularly strong support.

The Taxpayers Union Curia poll for May showed Labour lost support since the Taxpayers Union last polled in April, down 1.5 points. But Labour, with 31.9% support, remained more popular than National, which was at 30%.

Combining the results of National, ACT and NZ First, the coalition parties had 48.2% support. The Opposition parties, Labour, Te Pāti Māori and the Greens, had just 45.7% support.

Neither bloc cracked 50%, but on these numbers, the coalition would likely be able to govern again.

The party results were:

Labour on 31.9%.
National on 30%.
NZ First on 11.7% - down 1.9 points since the last Taxpayers Union poll.
The Greens on 9.7% - up 1.9 points.
ACT on 6.5% - down 2.5 points in the last month.
Te Pāti Māori on 4.1% - reliant on winning electorate seats to return to Parliament.

ACT leader David Seymour has responded to the latest poll. (file photo)

And The Opportunity Party on 2.8% - also below the threshold.

In the preferred prime minister stakes, the Chrises remained neck and neck. This month, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon reclaimed the top spot with 21.5% of respondents saying he was their preferred prime minister.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins was down to 19%.

Politicians respond

ACT leader David Seymour said the poll showed not much had changed for his party.

'Well, we went up two and a half last time and went down two and a half this time. I guess there's something going on, but it's hard to make sense of,“ he said.

Asked if he was comfortable with ACT sitting as the fifth most popular party, below the Greens, he said: 'You always want to do better, don't you? But at the same time, many, many times we have been ahead of them, and you know, we don't pop the champagne. We just keep on working, and it's the same now.'

National deputy leader Nicola Willis described the latest poll: “Sometimes they go up, sometimes they go down.”

NZ First deputy Shane Jones shared similar thoughts.

“It ebbs and flows but it's the long distance direction of travel, so we make sure we keep our eyes focused on the prize,” he said.

Then he clarified the prize: 'A handsome party vote'.

Curia polled 1000 people between May 3 and 7. Its results were weighted to the overall adult population. The results have a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1%.