Labour's campaign launch is being labelled the biggest in many moons.

Don McGlashan was the warm up act, but he wasn't there to perform.

The musician spoke to the more than 2000 party supporters about inequality and how bad it's become over the past nine years.

McGlashan's done work in prisons over the years and says an uncaring society is now bearing the brunt.

"Right now over 20,000 of our children have a parent or parents in prison and the generational reach of that statistic is incredible. 20,000 that's like 3 schools of kids and we are better than that."

Former Labour president Mike Williams told Mike Hosking there was a bigger swell of support yesterday than for anything he ever organised.

"My memory goes back to 1984 when pulled a slack election and the party filled the town hall but it was overflowing this time."

LISTEN ABOVE AS MIKE WILLIAMS SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOSKING