Politics

Support for Labour steadies, concern about catching Covid-19 rises - UMR poll

19:16 pm on 15 September 2021

A new political poll taken during the latest lockdown shows support for Labour has steadied after a downward trend.

Jacinda Ardern's preferred Prime Minister rating was up five points. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

UMR - Labour's polster - surveyed 1050 voters betweeen 31 August and 6 September for its corporate clients, with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 per cent.

The results had Labour up two points to 45 percent of the vote and National down two points to 26 percent of the vote.

The ACT Party was unchanged at 13 percent of the vote, with the Green Party down one point to 6 percent of the vote.

Jacinda Ardern's preferred Prime Minister rating was up five points to 55 percent, while ACT's David Seymour and National's Judith Collins were both unchanged at 14 percent and 13 percent respectively.

Former National leader Simon Bridges did not register as preferred Prime Minister and National MP Christopher Luxon was at 1.2 percent.

The results also found New Zealand First stayed within close range of the five percent threshold at 4.1 percent.

The UMR poll also picked up on public mood during the pandemic; finding 63 percent of those surveyed believed the worst was still to come.

Concern about catching Covid-19 was up 23 percent to 52 percent; the highest reading since March 2020 when 64 percent were concerned about catching the virus.

The poll also found willingness to be vaccinated was up from 82 percent to 89 percent, with 72 percent of people who'd been tested for Covid-19 reporting an overall positive experience.