Neck-and-neck on female vote

National remains neck-and-neck with Labour in the battle for the female vote, with the latest Herald Digi-Poll survey hinting that there has been little fallout yet for Don Brash from his reported affair.

The poll shows National has 42.3 per cent support among females and Labour has 42.7 per cent.

The battle for the female vote is crucial to National's hopes of getting into Government.

The party enjoys strong support among males, and this is reflected in the latest poll, with National on 49.6 per cent and Labour 33.3 per cent.

The last Herald poll in August had National slightly ahead of Labour in the race for female votes - something the party could not achieve in any of the newspaper's polls in the lead-up to last year's election.

One of the potential negative spinoffs for National from publicity about Dr Brash's alleged affair with businesswoman Diane Foreman was a drop in female support.

But a breakdown of female reaction to the affair story shows an interesting twist.

Asked if the public ought to have been told about Dr Brash's supposed affair, 76.5 per cent of women said no.