Latest political poll: National rises against Labour, with 45 against 43 in 1 News Colmar Brunton poll

National Party leader Simon Bridges has drawn level with Judith Collins on 6 per cent in the preferred Prime Minister stakes in the latest 1 News Colmar Brunton poll. Photo / Getty Images

Support for the National Party remains strong and two percentage points ahead of Labour, according to the latest 1 News Colmar Brunton poll.

And the block of voters wanting Simon Bridges to be Prime Minister has increased slightly, drawing him level with his caucus colleague Judith Collins on 6 per cent.

While Jacinda Ardern was still well ahead on 41 per cent, she dropped 4 points since the last poll in June. Winston Peters was on 2 per cent.

National was on 45 per cent, Labour on 43 per cent, and the Greens on 6 per cent.

New Zealand First had dropped below the 5 per cent threshold to 3 per cent, while the Māori Party, Act and New Conservatives were all on 1 per cent.

Based on those numbers and assuming Act leader David Seymour retains the seat of Epsom, the Labour and Green parties would have the numbers to govern, and New Zealand First would not be returned to Parliament.

Christopher Luxon, the outgoing Air NZ boss who has suggested he could have a political future with National, was a new entrant in the preferred Prime Minister stakes on 1 per cent.

National and Labour had both increased support by 1 point since the poll in June, and while the Greens were steady, New Zealand First had fallen by 2 points.

The polling was conducted over five days up until Wednesday last week, and has a margin of error of 3.1 per cent.

During that period, Ardern had just returned from meeting her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison in Melbourne, the Government released its second tranche of gun law reforms, protesters had started to gather at Ihumātao, and Bridges was the subject of a Green Party attack ad that mocked his accent .

Labour's internal polling was leaked to Newshub last week, showing National on 38 per cent.

Bridges told the Herald last week that his low personal polling was because of voters' disinterest at this point in the electoral cycle.

At the National Party's annual conference at the weekend, former Prime Minister Sir John Key said that Bridges' lack of resonance among voters did not matter.

"We used to do a lot of polling on leadership ... They [voters] tend to look at the big issues that matter, law and order, health and education. The economy is National's key competency."

The previous 1 News Colmar Brunton poll in June had National on 44 per cent, ahead of Labour on 42 per cent. The Greens were on 6 per cent and New Zealand First on 5 per cent.

That poll came out the same day as a Newshub-Reid Research poll, which had National on 37.4 per cent, well behind Labour on 50.8 per cent. The Greens were on 6 per cent and New Zealand First on 2.8 per cent.

Collins was at 7 per cent in the preferred Prime Minister rating, ahead of Bridges on 4.2 per cent. Ardern was on 49 per cent.