NZ First leader Winston Peters says Prime Minister John Key is "acting like a spoilt brat" by saying he doubted Mr Peters would work constructively with National.

Prime Minister John Key says losing Northland in yesterday's byelection was disappointing but he was "pretty philosophical" about it.

Winston Peters' victory is an astonishing achievement. He cleaned out National. He cleaned out Labour, writes Rodney Hide.

It surely does not get much better than this for Winston Peters, writes John Armstrong.

NZ First leader Winston Peters has delivered National a humiliating bloodied nose in the Northland byelection, with a majority of 4,012 votes after the counting.

Provincial New Zealand wants to shake down the Government for some of the largesse offered to Northland with its byelection promise of new bridges galore.

What a madcap couple of months. The Northland byelection campaign has had all the infantile pranking, ill-discipline and personal baggage of an Auckland airport carousel at Maadi Cup time. Here, from....

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is the Bear Grylls of national politics. He knows every survival trick going, writes Claire Trevett.

A win by Peters in the Northland byelection could affect the outcome of some upcoming bills, and could have changed the result of recent ones.

A new poll has NZ First leader Winston Peters with a commanding lead in the Northland byelection even though almost half of the voters said they did not trust him.

Nearly 90 per cent of the 7500 new jobs created in the Northland region last year were full-time jobs, according to the office of Employment Minister Steven Joyce.

Prime Minister John Key has defended his ministers' use of the taxpayer-funded Crown car service to campaign in the Northland byelection, saying it was within the rules.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters hopes to stand in Northland again in 2017 if he wins the byelection but will not commit to the seat if he loses.

Labour will oppose a bill setting up the two referendums deciding the fate of the flag because of a sticking point over the order of the questions.

Despite John Key's claim that such antics are commonplace in by-elections, they are not, writes Claire Trevett. It is more traditional to emphasise how policies already under way will benefit the electorate in question, rather than promise new things.

Yesterday's announcement is classic pork-barrelling, writes John Armstrong. It indicates National is seriously worried that Winston Peters may well carry off a victory.

Prime Minister John Key is unapologetic about rolling out multi-million-dollar promises during the Northland byelection.

Guy Body's take on the Northland byelection.

PM’s regular ‘disappointment’ with racheting salaries hits crunch time, John Armstrong writes.

If elections were won on fast starts and noise, NZ First leader Winston Peters would have Northland sewn up.

Taking such an early lead over his National rival in the campaign will give Winston Peters' bandwagon even more momentum, writes John Armstrong. Peters' support registered at 35 per cent in the poll,

The first poll of the Northland byelection shows NZ First leader Winston Peters has taken an early lead.

The self-appointed Pied Piper of the North, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, has the words "Follow Me" on the back of his campaign bus.

Andrew Little is wise to have ignored the pressure that was coming even from Labour quarters.

The Northland byelection had the makings of a real nailbiter if Labour had stood aside and made it a two-horse race.

Peter Dunne says he would look at revisiting his post-election concessions from the National Party if New Zealand First leader Winston Peters wins the Northland byelection.