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Or to be more precise the ‘Nationalist’ right is on a roll. If proof were needed, it came in the form of results from elections held last weekend in the UK and Australia. In England the elections were for local councils; Wales and Scotland were parliamentary elections and in Australia there was a by-election in New South Wales. The results produced some astonishing results: nothing but bad news for the political left.
And just to rub salt into the wound the Democrats in America have been caught out yet again trying to rig elections and are now in the position of possibly never winning again. Further salt was added on Monday morning when the Herald’s 2026 Poll of Polls was released showing the coalition had an 88.3 per cent chance of being re-elected. It is worth looking at these occurrences individually.
The English council elections confirmed predictions that had been circulating for some time that Labour was destined for the shellacking it got. Labour lost over 1,400 council seats and Reform gained over 1,400. This was the big story to emerge from a tumultuous day of voting. The Conservatives took less of a hammering but still had little to celebrate. The Greens and the Liberal Democrats made some gains; the Greens not as many as they had hoped.
The Welsh and Scottish elections produced a similar Reform story. Reform came from nowhere to be the second largest party in both parliaments. Labour, which has ruled the Welsh parliament for over a century, was pushed into third place with the Welsh and Scottish parties garnering the most votes. In Wales, Reform were just seven seats shy of being the most popular party, having previously had no representation at all in the Welsh parliament. That is a political earthquake.
In the by-election in the New South Wales seat of Farrar, a rural electorate extending down to the Victorian border which has belonged to the Liberal Party for the last 75 years, One Nation, the nationalist party led by Pauline Hanson, stormed to victory. The Liberals suffered a 31 per cent swing against them and were pushed into fourth place. Also of note was the fact that Labor didn’t field a candidate. One Nation has seats in the Senate but this is their first seat in the House.
What are we to make of all of this? Well, it’s pretty obvious what's happening. Voters are fed up with the policies of the left – in particular tax and spend and immigration. They are saying enough is enough and the time has come to put the country (its people) first.
In New Zealand, Winston Peters started the movement and in the USA, Donald Trump made it a cornerstone of his presidential campaign. The voters are also turned off by globalism and the hysteria that accompanies the climate change rhetoric. They don’t want to fund these issues.
That the parties on the right are attracting nationalist, populist and patriot support is worthy of note. If Christopher Luxon wants to drag himself and National out of the self-made hole they are in, they need to take this seriously. They are bleeding support to NZ First for a very clear reason. Spending NZ taxpayers’ money on wild climate change type issues (where no matter what NZ does becomes so irrelevant it's not funny) is simply stupid. There are plenty of situations here at home where that money could be better spent. Wake up Mr Luxon – it's not rocket science.
Here's a thought: When the electorate is dissatisfied with the performance of a party, nine times out of 10 the focus goes on the leader. The popular view might well be that a change of leader is the answer. BUT – is there any point changing the leader without significant policy changes?
The UK provides a perfect example. Let's say they change Starmer, who is deeply unpopular, with Rayner or Miliband or Streeting. What would that be change without a clear change of policies?
The electorate may not like Starmer much, but I suggest they detest Labour’s policies even more.
You could replace Luxon, but without a change to policies on globalisation and climate change – what's the point? Similarly, National's policies on co-governance and race based politics are highly unpopular, contravene their election promises and offend their base.
This hurts National and benefits Winston Peters and NZ First. Luxon needs to get his head out of the sand or his poll numbers will continue to scrape the bottom of the barrel.
Winston Peters has a bill before the House affirming English as the official language. Good on him. Like most average Kiwis, I have zero interest in Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. It's bureaucratic virtue signaling – shall we call it for what it is? Patent bullshit!
The electorate is turning. Parties promoting globalism and climate alarmism are riding the outgoing tide. Parties with policies promoting a ‘country first’ approach are riding the incoming tide.
Last week’s results should be a wake-up call to those parties who refuse to surf this tidal wave of new found popularity.
