A National MP has revealed the reminders Christopher Luxon regularly gives his caucus to help fuel its election chances, while a Labour MP has revealed Chris Hipkins has given Cabinet a pep talk of their own yesterday.
East Coast Bays MP Erica Stanford said yesterday's poll had given National "some real confidence that our policies have been well received by the public".
"No one's got it in the bag, we've got a long way to run, we never take anything for granted.
"Christopher Luxon tells us that every single caucus: 'stay humble, stay focused and keep pumping out really great policy that connects with Kiwis'."
The latest 1News Verian poll had Labour at 29%, leaving the party with it all to do before October’s election.
The latest 1News Verian poll, released yesterday, showed National and ACT on track to have the numbers to govern, while the Labour Party posted its worst result in the poll since Chris Hipkins became Labour leader - just 29%. It's a drop of nine points since January, when he took over from Dame Jacinda Ardern.
Labour MP Willie Jackson said Hipkins had given his own "great talk" at yesterday's Cabinet meeting and Jackson expected more discussion in caucus today.
"He's very inspiring, he wants us to get out there.
"We talked about a lot of things at Cabinet, we're talking about going forward, I'm not going to go into details about what we talked about in Cabinet but we've talked generally about being determined, getting out there and selling ourselves in terms of what we're doing, in terms of GST... prescription charges [and] what we've done in the last six years. We've got a confident caucus at the moment."
"He's a great leader.
"Some of us have let him down. We've got to get in behind him and we've get in behind this campaign.
"There's a long way to go in this election, so you shouldn't write us off.
"Chippy's on fire."
Jackson said the party was not surprised by the poll result.
"We were always going to get a hit, but we know that we've got some work to do, the campaign's just starting.
"We're determined to do this."
'Still a long way to go' and 'a lot of work to do'
Labour and National MPs alike were asked their reaction to the 1News Verian poll, revealing some common themes and phrases.
Tāmaki Makaurau MP Peeni Henare said he didn't "read too much" into the poll.
"There's still a long way to go."
He said Hipkins had his "full support".
"A lot of people do like our Prime Minister.
"These are polls, we've got another seven or eight weeks until the election and I'm confident we can do it."
Northcote MP Shanan Halbert said Labour had "only just started the campaign".
"There's a lot of work to do and it's game on."
National senior whip Chris Penk said he was happy with the numbers but there was "a lot of work to do".
Asked if he thought Labour needed to roll Chris Hipkins as leader, Penk joked Hipkins was "doing a good job at the moment so they should keep him".
National MP and former leader Judith Collins said National still had to "work very very hard to be in government".
She said the poll result was "very pleasing but we've still got a long way to go".
National Party campaign chair Chris Bishop said the poll was "obviously pretty positive for National but we've got a long way to go until the election and we've got more work to do".
He said Hipkins' comment yesterday Labour was the "underdog" in the election was "pretty absurd, frankly".
"He's just talking his book down because he knows they're in huge trouble.
"By any stretch of the imagination we're the underdog.
"We got one of our worst results in MMP ever at the 2020 election. Obviously we're doing better now than we were in 2020, not that that would be difficult."
Labour MP Stuart Nash, who is leaving politics at the election, said it was "early days" in the campaign.
"[Hipkins] know what he's doing as opposed to a guy who's been in Parliament and Opposition for two and a half years. A lack of experience. This is not Air New Zealand, this is running the country."
Asked if he thought the scandal surrounding him earlier in the year, which resulted in his sacking as a minister, might have had an impact on Labour's poll result, Nash said: "What's done is done".
He said morale in the party was "very strong, it's good".
"I've been in the Labour Party in caucuses where things have been completely fractious and about to implode. That is not the way it is at the moment."
National deputy leader Nicola Willis said the Government looked "increasingly all over the place".
"They can't decide whether they're against our ideas or for our ideas, whether they're Labour or National lite, it depends on what their polling tells them from one day to the next. That's disappointing because they should be presenting a coherent vision for the future."
Nelson MP Rachel Boyack said New Zealand had been through tough times and it was "natural that some of that grumpiness that Kiwis are feeling does get directed at the Government".
Luxon said National was "very focused on October 14".
Hipkins said his party was going into the election "behind the Opposition".
"Obviously we'd like to be higher but we've still got the whole campaign ahead of us."
Asked if he was the right leader for Labour, he said "yes". When asked why, he said: "Because I believe I am."
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