There are some battles it is disadvantageous to win. Looking at 2023 from Labour’s perspective, it is easy to see why the Left’s strategists might see next year’s election as a case in point.

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Known principally for his political commentaries in The Dominion Post, The ODT, The Press and the late, lamented Independent, and for "No Left Turn", his 2007 history of the Left/Right struggle in New...