Politics in a Pandemic

Want to feel old? Somehow it’s 20 years since the first LOTR movie (Image: Supplied)

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending November 19

Blockbuster fiction, a nifty cookbook and a big, beautiful new anthology of queer writing.

By The Spinoff Review of Books | 19th November, 2021

Māori Party co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/ Getty Images; additional design by Tina Tiller)

How the Māori Party defied expectations at the 2020 election

Is this the springboard for a bigger resurgence in 2023?

By Lara Greaves and Ella Morgan | 14th November, 2021

Jacinda Ardern speaks during the Labour election night party at the Auckland Town Hall. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Colin James: Ardern’s 2020 election victory and the echoes of history

A journalist who has covered NZ elections across seven decades puts Labour's win last year in perspective.

By Colin James | 13th November, 2021

ACT leader David Seymour celebrates with his party on election night in Auckland. (Photo: Greg Bowker/Getty Images; additional design by Tina Tiller)

David Seymour: The real story of our surge from one MP to 10 at the 2020 election

We knew we were making progress when a female focus-group participant said: 'National only cares about money, Act cares about people.'

By David Seymour | 12th November, 2021

James Shaw and Marama Davidson arrive at the Green Party election night event. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images; additional design by Tina Tiller)

Why we chose accelerator over handbrake: The Green leaders on the 2020 election

Our wealth tax policy became a flashpoint and sparked a backlash. That worked for us.

By Marama Davidson and James Shaw | 11th November, 2021

Judith Collins on the campaign trail. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images; additional design by Tina Tiller)

‘We did not look like a credible alternative’: Judith Collins on the 2020 campaign

We have taken a battering but we have got up, says the National Party leader.

By Judith Collins | 10th November, 2021

Jacinda Ardern: The day I decided to delay the 2020 election

Jacinda Ardern: The day I decided to delay the 2020 election

There was a focus on traversing the country, making the 'double duty' case, and avoiding the Kool-Aid, says the Labour leader.

By Jacinda Ardern | 9th November, 2021