National, Act could form Government in latest 1News Kantar poll

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and National leader Christopher Luxon. Photos / Mark Mitchell

National and Act could work together to form a Government based on the results of a new political poll.

Tonight's 1News Kantar poll, taken from September 17 to 21, shows National with 37 per cent support, the same result it received in August.

Labour was up one percentage point on 34.

Act was on 9 per cent, down two and the Green Party was unchanged on 9.

New Zealand First was unchanged on 3 per cent.

The Maori Party was unchanged on 2 per cent.

National/Act could govern alone with 61 seats, while Labour, Greens and Maori Party would only secure 59 seats, based on these results.

Luxon said the party had made "tremendous progress".

"Here we are being able to form a government on the back of these results."

Ardern is still comfortably ahead in the preferred Prime Minister stakes, steady at 30 percentage points - the same number she received in August.

Luxon, meanwhile, has dropped one point to 21 per cent - nine behind Ardern.

Act leader David Seymour is also down one point - to 4 per cent - as the preferred next PM, followed by Winston Peters (two per cent) and Chloe Swarbrick (1 per cent).

When voters were asked who they'd want as PM if they could only choose between Ardern and Luxon, Ardern came out on top on 47 per cent, with Luxon on 41 per cent.

Ardern was up one point from a similar poll in March, while Luxon dropped four points from his 45 per cent six months ago.

Thirteen per cent of those polled said they didn't know who they would vote for or were still undecided.

Act leader David Seymour at a press conference earlier this year. Photo / Mark Mitchell

This latest poll was taken in the aftermath of the Queen's death, which eclipsed the news headlines for several weeks.

However, the Government did end the Covid-19 protection framework.

Ardern has also spent much of the past week meeting world leaders at the United Nations in New York.

The last 1News Kantar poll in early August had National and Act being able to form a Government with 62 seats put of 120, ahead of Labour and Greens with 55 seats between them and the Maori Party with three seats.

Te Pati Maori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer in the old Maori Affairs committee room at Parliament, Matangireia. Photo / Mark Mitchell

In the last Kantar poll National had 48 seats, Labour 44, Act 14, the Greens 11 and the Maori Party 3.

Two different poll soon after had National and Labour virtually neck and neck, but two polls in early September had National stretching ahead.

Greens co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell

In the previous Kantar poll, Jacinda Ardern was preferred Prime Minister by 30 per cent, Christopher Luxon had 22 per cent support and David Seymour 5 per cent.