RNZ interview: What can we expect from the UK's new prime minister?

I joined Jesse Mulligan on RNZ Afternoons to discuss Andy Burnham’s remarkable rise from Mayor of Greater Manchester to UK Prime Minister, why Labour MPs had lost confidence in Keir Starmer, and the political appeal Burnham has built outside London.

We also talked about “Manchesterism”: Burnham’s emphasis on devolution and stronger local control, his experience transforming public transport in Greater Manchester through the Bee Network, and his proposal for a “No. 10 North”. We finished by looking at his first Cabinet appointments and what they might tell us about the direction of the new government

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2019044253/what-can-we-expect-from-the-uk-s-new-prime-minister

RNZ Interview: Is MMP still fit for purpose?

I joined Emile Donovan on RNZ Afternoons to discuss whether MMP is still fit for purpose, 30 years after New Zealand’s first election under the system.

We talked about the alternatives to MMP, whether smaller parties exercise disproportionate influence, why reducing the number of list MPs would affect proportionality, and what New Zealand’s experience under first past the post tells us about the reasons for reform. I also argued that changing the electoral system would not necessarily recreate the old two-party politics of the past, particularly as party systems are becoming more fragmented in other democracies as well.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2019041232/politics-is-mmp-still-fit-for-purpose

RNZ Interview: Resignation of Keir Starmer

I joined Emile Donovan on RNZ Afternoons to discuss the political turmoil that has left the UK facing its seventh prime minister in a decade, and why Keir Starmer’s large parliamentary majority proved much more fragile than it first appeared.

We discussed Andy Burnham’s emergence as the likely successor, the appeal of his record and political identity in Greater Manchester, and the challenge of translating “Manchesterism” into governing a G7 country. We also looked at the rise of Reform UK, the growing fragmentation of British politics, and whether first past the post remains sustainable in an increasingly multi-party system.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2019040444/seventh-pm-in-ten-years-what-on-earth-is-going-on-in-the-uk

RNZ Interview: UK’s 2026 local and devolved elections

I joined Jesse Mulligan on RNZ Afternoons to discuss the significance of the UK local and devolved elections as an early test of the national political mood.

We looked at the rise of Reform UK on the populist right and the Greens on the left, the continuing weakness of the Conservatives, and the pressure poor results could place on Keir Starmer’s Labour government. We also discussed whether the growth of these parties might pull Labour and the Conservatives away from the centre as they try to recover lost support.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2019034212/explainer-why-we-should-be-keeping-an-eye-on-the-uk-election

RNZ Interview: Is New Zealand ready for AI in the 2026 election?

I joined Emile Donovan on RNZ Nights to discuss the use of generative AI in election campaigning, following my Newsroom article AI politicking isn’t coming – it’s already here, and proving hard to regulate.

We discussed the emergence of AI-generated political attack ads, the difficulty of regulating rapidly changing technology through existing electoral law, and what New Zealand might learn from overseas approaches to transparency, disclosure and accountability. The broader question was whether New Zealand’s electoral framework is ready for AI-generated political content in the 2026 election campaign

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights/audio/2019023263/are-we-ready-for-ai-this-election-year

RNZ report: A timeline of trans-Tasman political chaos

An article on RNZ’s website discussing section 44 of the Australian constitution https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/337315/a-timeline-of-trans-tasman-political-chaos

David Farrar: The seventh Labour Government (2012 NZ Herald column)

In a 2012 NZ Herald column looking ahead to a future Labour government, David Farrar included me among a group of younger Labour figures he thought might eventually enter Parliament.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/david-farrar-the-seventh-labour-government/PVWH6T6GP633FSERT63ITS2BSA/

The time the Sunday Star-Times elected me to Wellington City Council

I ran for Wellington City Council in the Lambton Ward in 2010.

In its post-election coverage, the Sunday Star-Times reported that former mayor Sir Michael Fowler had fallen 500 votes short of “the lowest-polling successful candidate in the Lambton ward, Labour’s Marcus Ganley”.

There was only one problem: I had not been elected.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/4216144/Capital-in-limbo