April 10, 2014
Greens’ coalition push premature
Labour MP Shane Jones is backing party leader David Cunliffe’s rejection of a proposal by the Greens to enter a formal coalition ahead of the September 20 election.
Mr Jones says there is common ground between the parties on many issues, but such a deal is disrespectful of voters.
He says Labour is a party for New Zealanders that needs to appeal on both the left and the right.
"The Greens, they’ve got their kaupapa and they've got a challenge in front of them to boost their vote just as Hone has, just as Winston Peters has, but this is a proud brand going back to 1916 – the Labour brand, and we need to ensure the brand both weathers the current challenges and more importantly brings lots of supporters to it in a couple of months time," Mr Jones says.
Labour’s immediate challenge is bringing its share of the party vote up to around 40 percent by the election.
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