Vernon Small has very close links to Labour. He is also saying it looks like Goff as the next Labour leader. This is his speculation on the Deputy.
We think that the best choice for Labour is Street. Smart and hard working she provides gender balance, factional balance, geographic balance, and will also appeal to the rainbow faction. Small could easily have found Party members saying "white heterosexual males from West Auckland".....
Labour will probably seek a balance of left and right as well as taking gender, ethnicity and geography into account. That means Mr Goff and Mr Cunliffe - "white males from West Auckland", as one party source put it - may not provide the right mix. Others said a Goff-King ticket would be logical but would raise eyebrows because they were both from the Right "faction".
Insiders pointed to former Labour Party president Maryan Street, Climate Change Minister David Parker, Building Issues Minister Shane Jones or one of the left-leaning Christchurch MPs, Lianne Dalziel or Ruth Dyson, as other options. A "wild card" could be well-performed Tainui MP Nanaia Mahuta.
