After one of the National Party’s worst poll results, leader Simon Bridges talks to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking. Audio / Newstalk ZB
A defiant National leader Simon Bridges is confident that his party will regain much of the support it lost over the last few months in time for September's election.
He is also pouring cold water over any speculation of a leadership coup within National, telling Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking: "I'mthe leader, I'm here to stay".
Bridges was responding to a Newshub/Reid Research poll last night that put the party at just 30 per cent support – the lowest point the party has polled at in recent memory.
Meanwhile, Bridges was at just 4.5 per cent – a six percentage point drop on the previous poll.
But the National leader told ZB this morning said the numbers were not surprising, given Ardern has had "wall-to-wall" coverage over the last few weeks.
National and its leader Simon Bridges were on just 30 per cent in the poll - its worst result in recent memory.
Both she, and Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield, have been fronting near-daily Covid-19 press conferences.
Bridges said the high polling for Labour and Ardern would not last.
"Polls jump around and my simple point is they're going to continue to do that."
He pointed out that National was ahead in the polls just four months ago, before Covid-19 was firmly in the public spotlight.
And any talk of Bridges stepping down from National's top job was quickly quashed – he said a number of times during the interview that he was not going anywhere.
He also rejected any speculation that some of his caucus colleagues were planning on rolling him: "I haven't heard any of that".
Meanwhile, looking forward Bridges said National was going to be focused on jobs, the economy and rebuilding New Zealand.
National has a track record when it comes to rebuilding the economy after economic shocks, such as the global financial crisis and the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, he said.
"We'll do it again."
National, he said, is still incredibly popularly supported across the country.
"You'll see that happen again over the course of the election campaign."
