Jacinda Ardern rockets to new heights as preferred prime minister

Despite sacking a cabinet minister last week, Jacinda Ardern saw her personal ratings rise to 62 per cent as preferred PM.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is at 62 per cent as preferred prime minister. Picture: Getty Images.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has reached new popularity heights, polling 62 per cent as preferred prime minister, streaks ahead of her rival, new National Party leader Judith Collins.

Despite losing two cabinet ministers in a month – one just last week over an inappropriate affair with a staffer – Ms Ardern, who turned 40 on Sunday, saw her personal ratings rise by 2.5 per cent while Ms Collins gained just 14.5 per cent of the vote. The Labour Party was also polling at 60.9 per cent with National lagging far behind at just 25 per cent in Sunday’s Newshub-Reid Research Poll.

The one piece of comfort for Ms Collins, who became National Party leader just two weeks ago was that her polling numbers eclipsed those of former leader Simon Bridges, who sat at just 4.5 per cent before he was polled.

National Leader Judith Collins during question time last week. Picture: Getty Images.

Ms Collins, 61, was quick to dismiss the poll as “ridiculous” and a “rogue” poll, insisting internal polling had shown the Nationals to be closer to 40 per cent as preferred party.

The National Party leader, who had to sack one of her MPs last week for sending explicit texts to a young woman, told Newshub: “I think we’ve done very, very well when you consider what we’ve dealt with in just the last week and a half.

“The fact is we have dealt with very difficult situations.”

Ms Ardern said she always viewed polls with scepticism but the Newshub research showed the country still had confidence in her party to govern.

“I’ve never, ever taken for granted the fact that we are here because New Zealanders put us here,” she said. “We’re never, ever complacent.”

The Prime Minister told Newstalk ZB: “A lot can change very quickly.”

Ms Collins – nicknamed “Crusher” Collins when she was police minister, accused Labour of arrogance and said she was confident she would prevail at the general election on September 19.

Asked if she thought she would still be leader after the election, she replied: “Absolutely. In fact, by September 19 I’ll be the Prime Minister.”

She told Newstalk ZB: “I think it’s really important that people think about what they’re hearing on the ground and what we’re hearing on the ground is entirely different (from the polls)”