Peters could lose Tauranga to National 

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is facing a desperate fight to keep his Tauranga seat, with a new One News Colmar Brunton poll showing his electorate support is plunging.

The poll of 500 Tauranga voters shows National candidate Bob Clarkson has a significant lead, capturing 45% support, with Peters 12 points behind on 33%. Labour candidate Sally Barrett is a distant third.

And there may not be any safety net for the veteran MP with the party vote, with New Zealand First perilously close to dipping under the 5% party support threshold needed to get back into parliament.

National leader Don Brash seems unlikely to come to Peters' rescue. "We haven't got any plans at all to endorse other candidates or other parties."

In more bad news for Peters, other parties are acting against him to shore up National's Tauranga prospects. The United Future Party and Act leader Rodney Hide are saying they will encourage their supporters to vote National if it can win Tauranga.

"There's a big groundswell of support for the National Party and it's going to be close and anything we can do to help Mr Clarkson win the seat, we will do.... We want Winston Peters out of parliament,' Hide says.

But even as his 21 year grip on the electorate looks shaky, Peters is dismissing the poll and instead attacking the media.

"Here's the deal. When you're wrong on election night will you resign? Will your management resign? Will any of you people ever resign when you get it wrong? No, you never do."

And to those predicting his demise, the veteran politician had a message: "You're about to get an education."

But National candidate Bob Clarkson says he is confident the poll is correct.

"We're definitely ahead of Winston as far as we're concerned. We're not going to skite until the 17th. Then we'll have a big party to celebrate."

But Peters remains defiant: "I'm confident of the work we've done."