| Thursday, July 12, 2012 8:40 AM

When the Prime Minister labelled the Labour Party a "joke" yesterday, it's unclear whether he'd just been looking at a photo of three senior MPs wearing matching woollen vests over tidy shirts.

It's also unclear whether the said outfits, worn by the leadership duo of David Shearer and Grant Robertson and Palmerston North MP Iain Lees-Galloway, had been worn on purpose or were just an embarrassing fashion faux pas. Either way, the party's other MPs milked it for what it was worth, tweeting photos and making jokes.

Shearer may have been trying to look like Superman with the vest and shirt combo, he's not yet quite capable of leaping the political form of tall buildings - political polls. But he does need to be given some time. It may seem like an age since the election, and since Shearer took over as Labour leader, promising renewal and change, but it's only been just over six months.

Labour's two day caucus this week was held in Waitangi in the Far North, a National stronghold, apart from the coveted Maori seat currently held by Hone Harawira. Labour wants that, and the other Maori seats, back and that was bound to be part of this week's discussions.

The main topics though were changes to the way the leader is elected, effectively giving members more of a say. MPs have admitted publicly and privately that the change is coming, and agreed to it this week. It's likely to be similar to overseas models, where MPs get a certain percentage of the vote and factions such as union, rainbow wings and then members, receiving the other two thirds.

By doing this, the party's executive hope it'll help members get more involved, but also change the perception of Labour held by many that it's filled only with unionists and "a gaggle of gays", to paraphrase West Coast MP Damien O'Connor. The theory is, that in turn will lead to a much-needed increase in the membership base.

Those anxious to see change may have to wait a little while longer yet, but there'll also likely to be hoping there'll be no repeat of the sweater vest fiasco when parliament resumes next week.

Photo: @jacindaarden