Coughlan on Labour’s bloody nose

Thomas Coughlan writes:

Labour strategists will begin work making sure that whatever went wrong with the Collins campaign will not be repeated at the general election next year. If it does, Labour could be toast – simple as that.

You can’t win a general election just by winning Wellington.

Central government can ultimately have everything its way, but Labour now has to ponder whether it wants to go to war with a nation of right-wing mayors over Three Waters and RMA reform, or whether to drop or modify the policies (modification being far more likely) in recognition of the fact the electorate in many, perhaps most, parts of the country appears to have rejected them (we should note that Brown’s left-of-centre predecessor Phil Goff was also a Three Waters sceptic, seeing very little benefit for Auckland).

Ardern’s statement said she wanted to “make voting more accessible. Greater participation in elections is good for democracy!”.

The comment correlated with a remark made by Collins which suggested one of the reasons he performed poorly is the hodgepodge way local body elections are conducted, which has resulted in terrible turnout.

Goff was not a fan of Three Waters but he wasn’t really an opponent of it. He just politely and quietly said it wasn’t what he wanted. Wayne Brown will not be quiet or polite about it.

Turnout is not why the left lost. It was unpopularity. The Auckland turnout in 2022 is barely changed from 2019. The PM should be careful not to imply elections in which her sides loses are somehow illegitimate because of low turnout.