Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

So, Winston has definitively ruled out working with Chris Hipkins. Not Labour, but Hipkins.  He had of course already pretty much done this earlier in the year after his State of Nation address, in which called the Labour leadership a bunch of liars and unreformed losers.  But this is crystal clear now. He’s spoken to Thomas Coughlin at the Herald - it’s a firm no, thank you. This is interesting for two reasons. 1) Winston is a political wizard and knows how to read the room and play the game. This is not a random outburst. This is a calculated decision based on the path he thinks will get New Zealand First back to the Treasury benches. By virtue of ruling out Hipkins, assuming he doesn’t get rolled and replaced, Winston has reduced his bargaining power. Which is not an outcome a kingmaker takes lightly.  The key to his success on the campaign trail has always been as much about what he stands against as what he stands for - immigration and Treaty issues spring to mind. He’s decided that in 202