Labour is considered the party most capable of managing all five of New Zealanders' top concerns, according to the July 2026 Ipsos Issues Monitor, with the party also overtaking National on the economy for the first time in the survey's recent history.

The survey, conducted between 8 and 14 July 2026, sampled 1,002 New Zealanders aged 18 and older through online research panels, with a credibility interval of ±3.5 percentage points. The Ipsos Issues Monitor asks respondents to name the three most important issues facing the country and which political parties they believe are best placed to handle them. RNZ reported the findings on 30 July 2026; the survey is attributed to Ipsos, with graphics credited as "Supplied / Ipsos Issues Monitor" (RNZ).

Cost of living remained the dominant concern at 62%, well ahead of healthcare and hospitals at 38% and the economy at 34%. Housing sat at 22% in fourth place. Unemployment returned to the top five at 20% for the first time since late 2020 — a shift from earlier in the year, when the 31st Issues Monitor (February 2026) found concern about unemployment easing among under-35s (Ipsos).

Labour now leads on 15 of the top 20 issues measured by the survey. National leads on only one: crime and law and order. The two major parties are rated equal on defence and foreign affairs. The Greens remain the party most trusted on climate change and the environment, and Te Pāti Māori is most trusted on issues facing Māori.

The most notable shift is on the economy. Labour rose from 28% in May to 34% in July, overtaking National, which dropped from 33% to 30% over the same period. That reversal coincides with broader deterioration in the government's standing. The average rating of government performance fell to 4.1 out of 10, down from 4.2 in May. Fewer than a quarter of respondents rated the government positively (7–10 out of 10), down from 27% in May.

National's perceived ability to manage healthcare reached its lowest point since February 2024, while Labour's rating on the same issue hit its highest level in nearly five years. The trajectory on healthcare competence is a sharp reversal from the picture through 2025, when Labour was perceived as most capable on three of the top five issues in the June 2025 monitor, and four of the top five in the March 2026 (32nd) monitor (Ipsos).

Fuel and petrol prices dropped from the fourth most important issue to seventh equal, which Ipsos attributes to the announced ceasefire in the US-Iran conflict during the survey period. Race relations and racism registered at 6%, placing 13th equal — up from 16th equal in the May survey.

The 31st Issues Monitor, published in February 2026, found the government rating had rebounded from a record low (Ipsos). The July result suggests that rebound has not held.

For a governing party, the pattern is a familiar and unwelcome one: an incumbent presiding over a cost-of-living squeeze and rising unemployment finds its economic credibility eroding regardless of the underlying policy mix. National's contraction to a single-issue lead — crime — leaves it with a narrow platform in the survey's issue-by-issue competence ratings. The broader question for the government is whether the slide in perceived competence on the economy and healthcare tracks actual outcomes or reflects a sentiment shift that could stabilise or reverse before it matters electorally.

What gives the result particular weight is the trajectory across monitors. Labour has moved from leading on three of the top five in June 2025, to four of five in March 2026, to all five in July. That is a consistent directional trend across three quarters, not a single polling spike. National, conversely, has moved from a broader portfolio of issue leads to a single-issue foothold over the same period. Whether that reflects voter judgment on the government's first-term record or an opposition capitalising on incumbency fatigue is the question the next quarter's monitor will start to answer.