Support for National dips, economy confidence up
Support for National has dipped after this month's budget but people are more confident about the economy, according to a new poll.
Support for National has dipped after this month's budget but people are more confident about the economy, according to a new poll.
A One News Colmar Brunton Poll put support for National at 52 percent, down from 54 percent last month, while Labour remained unchanged on 34 percent.
But while National took a hit, voters seem to approve of Finance Minister Bill English's austere budget, with 48 percent of those polled saying they expected the economy to improve in the next year, compared with 38 percent last month.
Fewer people thought the economy would be worse, at 33 percent compared with 45 percent last month, while 19 percent thought it would be unchanged, compared with 17 percent last month.
Meanwhile, ACT has made gains since Don Brash ousted Rodney Hide as leader in late April, with support for the party going up 1.4 percentage points to 2.5 percent.
Support for the Greens and Maori Parties remains unchanged, at 6 percent and 1.4 percent respectively, while support for New Zealand First dropped from 2.7 percent to 1.6 percent.
Hone Harawira's Mana Party got 0.9 percent, in the first time support for the new party has been polled by One News.
John Key dipped as preferred prime minister, with support dropping from 55 percent to 53 percent, while Labour leader Phil Goff's support fell from 11 percent to 8 percent.
Dr Brash saw his popularity increase, from 0.1 percent to 0.6 percent.
The poll of 1018 eligible voters, which took place from May 21-25, had a 3.1 percent margin of error.
NZPA
Mon, 30 May 2011
Mon, 30 May 2011
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Support for National dips, economy confidence up
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