Labour's support among the elderly has slumped despite making free GP visits for pensioners the centrepiece of its election campaign launch recently.
A breakdown of the party vote according to age suggests a dramatic fall from 29.3 per cent among pensioners in last month's poll to just 17.6 per cent in today's poll.
Once the poll results are broken into age groups they are simply indicative.
But what makes the movement more credible is that New Zealand First, which assiduously courts the grey vote, has gone from 4.7 per cent support among the over 65-year-olds last month to 8.9 per cent of the older vote in today's poll.
New Zealand First and Labour launched their campaigns in Auckland on the same day, August 3. Labour leader David Cunliffe hit the headlines for a day or two over the free doctor visits for the elderly. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters hit the headlines for days following over his "two Wongs don't make a white" joke.
