Row over spending costs Labour in polls

The row over election spending has further damaged Labour's poll rankings, with the party slipping a further two points to a historic low in the latest One News Colmar Brunton poll.

Labour has dropped 7 per cent in the past two polls and 13 per cent behind main rivals National, which holds steady on 49 per cent.

Labour's party vote support, 36 per cent, is its lowest rating since it took office in 1999.

The poll was carried out as Parliament debated controversial legislation validating past election overspending by all political parties. National's poll ratings have risen sharply as its MPs have clamoured for Labour to pay back the money it overspent during the last election, which was the lion's share of $1.17 million overspent by political parties.

All parties that transgressed, bar New Zealand First, have now said they will pay the money back. New Zealand First has said it would discuss the findings of Auditor-General Kevin Brady with lawyers, and would pay back any funds clearly shown to have been wrongfully spent.

Of the minor parties, only the Greens (6 per cent) crest the threshold to gain seats in Parliament. New Zealand First is up 2 per cent to 3, while the Maori Party slips 1 to 2 per cent.

Disapproval of the performance of the Government rose to 51 per cent, up 2, while approval fell to 35 per cent.

People optimistic about the economic outlook rose 5 per cent to 32 per cent, but were still outrated by pessimists at 42 per cent.

In the preferred Prime Minister poll, both the main party leaders lost support. Labour leader Helen Clark dropped 3 per cent to 33 per cent, still well ahead of National's Don Brash, who was down 1 to 17 per cent.

The man tipped as a rival for Dr Brash's job, finance spokesman John Key, surged up 3 per cent to 11 per cent.

Colmar Brunton polled 1200 eligible voters between October 16 and 19.

Labour president Mike Williams said the One News Colmar Brunton poll historically showed Labour's rankings as lower than other polls, and he did not give it a lot of credence. "As long as we're above 35 per cent, we will win the next election," he said.

Mr Key said that, although his 11 per cent rating - a record high - was flattering, he was more excited about the 13 per cent lead National had over Labour. "We've got a leader we're very happy with and we're united behind him, and the only thing that really matters out of that poll is that National has a strong lead," he said.