Green Party surges in New Zealand poll as National and Labour decline

A new 1News Verian poll conducted between September 23 and 27, 2026, shows a significant shift in New Zealand’s political landscape. The Green Party reached a record high of 16 percent support, which would translate to approximately 19 seats in Parliament.

Both major parties, National and Labour, saw declines, with each dropping to 28 percent support. This parity would result in 34 seats for each party. The poll suggests that the left bloc could potentially form a government, provided the Opportunity Party holds the balance of power and National refuses to work with them.

In terms of preferred prime minister, Christopher Luxon saw a two-point gain to 19 percent, while Chris Hipkins fell by one point to 14 percent. Chlöe Swarbrick and David Seymour also recorded two-point increases in preference. The survey included 1,004 eligible voters with a margin of error of approximately 3.4 percent.