Labour’s problem in Mt Albert is deeper than a terrible candidate
Labour has held Mt Albert for 80 years. Even loyal supporters fear it could finally turn blue
The Labour Party has held Mt Albert, seat of leaders and prime ministers, for 80 years. With three left-leaning candidates challenging for the electorate in 2026, there are fears in the Labour base that it could finally turn blue.
Stuff
It would be easy to blame Labour losing its grip on Mt Albert on Helen White.
Helen is easily the least likeable Labour MP Labour has. She manages to be condescending in a way that surprises you every time you see her talk.
Part of you wonders if she realises the cameras are rolling, then the other part of you concludes this is who she is.
But Labour losing its grip on Mt Albert is a bigger and wider story of how Labour have lost Auckland and placing all the blame on Helen White would be unfair.
There are 3 major issues for Labour in Auckland.
The first is that last Covid lockdown.
Auckland remained locked down so that the rest of the country could get their shit together and lift immunisation rates.
Auckland took the heavy lifting and bore the pain of lockdown for the rest of the country yet didn’t get rewarded by Labour for that sacrifice.
All Jacinda wanted to do after lockdown was rebuild to the previous inequalities and that made Aucklanders feel like they were spat in the face. We took the pain but weren’t respected for that with anything meaningful.
Labour took GST off fresh fruit and vegetables to the election as our reward.
5cents off carrots do not a reward make.
The second issue is that Labour did sweet fuck all in terms of building Auckland while in power. We had proposed bike lanes over the Harbour Bridge scrapped, we had light rail scrapped, we had nothing to show after 6 years of Labour. You can’t keep promising the largest City real infrastructure achievements and then keep failing.
The third issue is the lack of real transformative change from Labour. Mt Albert has always been staunchly middle class left, this is where the Left intelligentsia live and when they compare Labour’s CGT with Green Wealth Tax, the Greens are going to win every single day of the week.
So.
Auckland was never thanked properly for it’s Covid lockdown sacrifice, Auckland gained nothing while Labour were in power and the little Labour has put up looks weak in comparison to the Greens.
That’s why the Greens are soaring to 16%, Auckland is moving to the Greens, they are not coming home to Labour.
Blaming Helen White would be fun, but Labour’s troubles in Auckland are deeper than that.
In 2020 Labour were given a once in a generation MMP majority and decided to do sweet fuck all with it. Voters don’t trust Labour on their own any longer and they want staunch allies who will force them to do something meaningful.
The fear Melissa Lee could come through the middle is only real if Melissa Lee was a serious threat, but the way she has been beaten up by Luxon and dumped down the Party list all point to an MP that not even National take seriously any longer.
I think there is a real chance this election for Mt Albert to be won by Qiulae Wong.
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If Labour had half a brain they too would be doing a deal but because oddly enough they still see themselves as the other team, team B, National team A, they just cannot bear to do anything – they get what they deserve frankly. Whilst I am at it tell me what Labour did for Maori over the past 15 years. Sweet FA I expect, oh well of course they turn up at the Otara market in their droves, but honestly why do people still consider them worthy of their vote. They are still the poorest, the most in prison, doing the shit jobs, being stopped by the cops regularly. I met a man recently who has been stopped 19 times by the police over five years. Well don’t have a moko I suppose that would be the cops answer.
If Maureen Pugh is “f’ing useless”, I would say Melissa Lee is evidence that Maureen isn’t lonely.
I find your attitude to Helen White puzzling. I find her likeable and unpretentious, and I know people she has actually helped in her capacity as an electorate MP
The saving grace is Mellisa lee is a very poor politician and Nationals attack on Labour this election will win few favours with voters, particularly because they have taken the country backwards and have no successes to promote this election.
Personally, I am sick and tired of hearing the whining about Auckland being locked down they are lucky they weren’t living in China. Labour paid the ultimate price for this by not being elected and I won’t go there about our debt as the current lot have borrowed more money and for what exactly when we are in such a mess.
For their mates the landlords that is why it was borrowed.