COMMENT: At first blush, the Government's invitation to Labour leader Andrew Little to visit the troops in Iraq appeared to be a trick.

COMMENT: Politics can be nasty. It's often incompetent. Somehow Little has managed to plumb new depths.

COMMENT: Twyford has held on to housing over three leaders in three years, which speaks for his grip on the portfolio, writes Audrey Young.

COMMENT: Frustration at fall in polls will blow over and party's best shot at recovery lies with Andrew Little.

COMMENT: This year it's gone from bad to worse for Labour, writes Barry Soper. Even though John Key lost the flag debate he's untainted with National at 50 percent.

A four-point drop in a Colmar Brunton poll taken for TVNZ last week must be a shock to supporters of the Labour Party.

COMMENT: Every time I think of Labour Leader Andrew Little - which I must confess is getting less and less - I can't help but feel sorry for him.

COMMENT: Labour has chosen the right topic but needs to get more specific about the solutions.

The Labour Party appears to be considering a radical new system of social welfare. It is hard to see any real benefit. It would be a universal setback.

Taxpayers' Union says Labour Party plans for "universal basic income" will come with hefty price tag.

COMMENT: Little can afford to have the occasional bad week. It is the effect on the voter that he needs to worry about more.

Mr Little, though, is better than this. He has the misfortune to be leading the Opposition to a Government whose leader seemingly can do no wrong.

COMMENT: Labour still come across as the party barking at every passing car, making it up as they go along, writes Toby Manhire.

Immigration NZ figures show 20,000 work visas were given to chefs from overseas in the past five years.

COMMENT: Little gifted National a new weapon to use against his party, the enemy of orthodoxy, writes Audrey Young.

It was an ominous sign when Prime Minister John Key wandered into his weekly post-Cabinet press conference and announced, "I've got a bit of a head cold."

Little more than two years have passed since the country had an intense debate on the rightful limits of the state's powers of domestic surveillance.

They all suffer from it but some of them are more inflicted with it than others. Essentially it's the politics of convenience, writes Barry Soper.

The longer a Government goes on, the more it needs to minimise the fronts on which it can be attacked, writes Audrey Young.

Punishments dished out by judges could soon be influenced by cutting-edge computer data modelling on offenders' behaviour.

For those who can't come up with their own dream, Labour has even prescribed one. This is what you dream of: a house, work, love and hope, Claire Trevett writes.

MPs personalising their messages to voters as they attempt to tap into underlying concerns for future.

Labour leader Andrew Little thinks it would a good idea for the Government to chip in and support the social media campaign to buy a sliver of land in Golden Bay.

Another British law change has just made it harder for Kiwis to live and work in the United Kingdom.

If I was a greedy, grasping, socialist, I would be totally underwhelmed by Labour leader Andrew Little promising free "post-school" education.

Labour leader Andrew Little has accused Prime Minister John Key of a lack of leadership and says he will still visit Te Tii Marae today.

A flagship anti-violence initiative that counts the Prime Minister as an ambassador is without funding for the coming year after Government support dried up.