I tend not to read too much into political polls- and that is not just because this year they have not made particularly pretty reading! But I was fascinated by the media reaction (actually I think it was just the same NZPA story re-printed in a number of places) to the UMR state of the nation poll.

The headline focuses on the relatively high average popularity ratings of the PM and the government. While on average for the year it showed National in the mid 50s and Labour in the low 30s, the latest results (December) revealed something different. National had dipped to their lowest poll rating since the election (48%) and Labour had risen to its highest (35%).

Generally the reporting of polls focuses on the latest results. The high averages are interesting from an historical standpoint, but I would have thought the most recent results would have been the focus of the coverage. Hmm. Anyway, back to not reading too much into polls….