Viv Beck’s withdrawal has had a significant effect on the race to be Auckland’s next mayor, a new Q&A/Kantar Public poll has found. With the centre-right vote solidifying around Wayne Brown, the former Far North mayor has leapt into first place with a 6-point lead over Labour-backed rival Efeso Collins.

Of the 1000 people polled between September 16 and 20, 44% were undecided, wouldn’t vote or refused to say who they supported. Of the remainder, the preferences were split as follows:

• Wayne Brown: 35%
• Efeso Collins: 29%
• Viv Beck (she has withdrawn, but her name remains on voting papers): 8%
• Craig Lord: 8%
• Gary Brown: 5%

The remaining candidates polled at 3% or lower.

In polling conducted just before Viv Beck’s exit, Efeso Collins was on 29%, Wayne Brown on 24%, and Beck on 14%.

A small reminder for anyone wondering why things feel just a little off this morning: daylight saving began in the wee hours, meaning clocks moved forward an hour.

Yet another reminder of the creeping inevitability of time, age and decay will be with us on April 2, 2023, when daylight saving ends, winter again approaches, and New Zealanders “dutifully carry out a great collective act of self-destruction… for the sake of some sensitive cows”, as Hayden Donnell so accurately put it.

But that’s a problem for future-you. Today’s a day to celebrate: summer really is just around the corner.