The polls correctly pick election result

The final Newshub Reid Research poll.

The polls see-sawed a lot in the lead-up to yesterday's general election, so just how accurate were they?

The answer in the end was - pretty close.

With more than half the votes counted last night, National was on 46.5 per cent, Labour 35.5 per cent, New Zealand First 7.4 per cent, Greens 5.9 per cent, Opportunities Party 2.1, Maori 1.1 per cent, Act 0.5 per cent and United Future 0.1 per cent.

The last published poll before the election - the Newshub Reid Research survey - had National at 45.8 per cent, Labour on 37.3 per cent, Greens 7.1 per cent, NZ First 7.1 per cent, TOP 0.9 per cent, Act 0.6 per cent and Maori 0.4 per cent.

Last Wednesday night the 1 News Colmar Brunton poll had National ahead by nine points, sitting on 46 per cent and Labour on 37 per cent.

New Zealand First held on for dear life, just making the 5 per cent threshold.

The Herald's Election Forecast, which combined data from every major poll conducted in the past year and the results of every election since 1999, was close to the final result.

The final forecast on Friday put National on 56 seats in Parliament (last night it had 58), with Labour on 47 seats (45 last night), NZ First on nine seats and the Greens on seven seats - the same numbers as last night.

However, polls from the previous week told a very different story.

Labour was out in front in the Colmar Brunton poll on September 14. The party sat on 44 per cent (up 1 point), four points ahead of National. The gap between the two big parties remained the same as the previous week's Colmar Brunton poll.

The Newshub Reid Research poll on September 12 was almost the polar opposite, showing National ahead by 10 points on 47.3 per cent (up four) and Labour on 37.8 per cent, down 1.6 per cent.

The dramatic poll also delivered a blow for the Greens who dropped to 4.9 per cent, beneath what is needed to enter Parliament.

The closest gap was recorded in the polls on September 3, with National on 43.3 per cent and Labour close behind on 39.4 per cent.