Labour still has to swallow dead rats

Another day, another poll which shows Labour is failing to attract the support it would need to lead a government.

The blame for the dismal poll ratings has been laid on Phil Goff, too many old faces in caucus and lack of unity.

All three could be contributing factors but there is another – the party hasn’t yet swallowed any dead rats.

National had to do it before the 2008 election. Some of those deceased rodents are still causing indigestion for members but swallowing them was necessary for National to win swinging voters.

Phil Goff made a belated, we-might-have-got -some-things-wrong admission some time ago but neither he nor the party have done anything more to show they really believe that.

So far Labour’s policies are ones which appeal to the party’s own hard-core supporters, but their still bleeding support to the left and doing nothing to win that’s likely to woo swinging voters back from the centre and further right.

To do that they’ll have to swallow some dead rats by accepting some of the policies which don’t come naturally to them and ditch some of those which do.