Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (L) and Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins. Photo: RNZ
Voters are souring on the leaders of National and Labour, with both Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins recording their lowest approval ratings yet in the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll.
But the survey suggests simply swapping them out may not be the solution for boosting either party's fortunes.
Just a third of respondents (33.4 percent) said Luxon was performing well as prime minister, down 2.3 points. Nearly half (48.6 percent) said he was performing poorly, up 3.1 points.
That leaves Luxon with a net performance score of -15.2. That's his worst result in the Reid Research series since becoming National leader in 2021.
(Note: Reid Research did not run any public polls between November 2023 and March 2025.)
Former National leaders, however, have received much worse scores while in opposition. Judith Collins recorded a net rating as low as -37.9 in mid-2020 and Simon Bridges dropped to -39 in mid-2019.
Hipkins fared better than Luxon in the latest poll, though he also continued on a downward trend.
While 38.8 percent approved of his performance as opposition leader (down 0.3 pts), 35.8 percent disapproved (up 1.8pts), giving him a net rating of just 3.
That too is his lowest since taking the Labour leadership, across four Reid Research polls.
Would a new leader make the difference?
When asked if a change of leadership would improve National's chances at next year's election, 41.9 percent said no, and 33.4 percent were unsure.
Only a quarter (24.7 percent) thought it would put National in a better position to win.
Among those respondents, Erica Stanford (8.2 percent), Nicola Willis (7.9) and Chris Bishop (7.2) were floated as potential successors.
But the largest share - 43.3 percent - did not have an alternative National MP in mind.
The numbers shook down similarly on the left-side of the ledger.
Just 24.9 percent thought a new leader would give the Labour Party a boost, compared with 42.9 percent who said it would not. Another 32.2 percent did not know.
Kieran McAnulty (11.8 percent) and Carmel Sepuloni (5.3) were the most commonly suggested replacements, though nearly 60 percent could not name anyone.
Going nowhere
Speaking to RNZ, Luxon dismissed any suggestion that another member of his caucus could be doing a better job than him.
"We've got a great team doing a great job, and that's what we're focused on," he told RNZ. "My job is to make sure I get the best out of that whole team."
Hipkins was equally dismissive: "I'm absolutely confident that I'll be leading the Labour Party into the next election, and I intend to win it."
Hipkins pointed to RNZ-Reid Research's preferred prime minister ratings, where he holds a narrow lead over Luxon, "very unusual" for an opposition leader mid-term.
On that measure, Hipkins dipped slightly to 23 percent (down 0.2), while Luxon edged up to 19.6 (up 0.8).
New Zealand First's Winston Peters was steady on 8.9 percent, followed by Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick (6.5) and ACT's David Seymour (5.8).
This poll of 1000 people was conducted by Reid Research, using quota sampling and weighting to ensure representative cross section by age, gender and geography. The poll was conducted through online interviews between 4-12 September 2025 and has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
