National can call it what they like, they can say it’s a refinement, they can say it’s a sensible change; they can say it’s more ambitious.

But it’s a back down. They’ve backed down on their support of the housing density law.

Good. They should never have signed up to that idea in the first place. It was stupid 

Just think about what it actually meant for you. Your neighbour could knock down their house and replace it with up to three houses, each three storeys high- without consent. 

Whoever thought that was going to be popular with homeowners needs to have another think.

And here’s the thing: homeowners, or people who are ambitious to become homeowners, will account for a lot of National’s support base.

So they only annoyed their own voters. 

For probably the last week and a bit, I have been asking people what they think is going wrong for National.

Why National keeps making so many silly calls that they have to back down from, or tidy up, or clarify, that they run the risk of losing an unlosable election.

And I reckon I've got to the bottom of at least part of the problem.

• National's Chris Bishop says councils will have the chance to use Medium Density Residential Standards
• 'I think we've got it wrong': Luxon wants to change housing density rules
• National U-turn: New housing density policy details revealed

They can’t tell us what they stand for, because they don’t know what they stand for.

Because I think there are some key people in the National Party who are actually embarrassed by the National Party.

They're embarrassed by the Nats’ traditional ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric; they're embarrassed by the Nats’ protection of home owners, they're embarrassed by ruling out the Maori Party in case they get labelled racists by the kookies on the left.

They’re essentially embarrassed to be conservatives, I think, or to be in a party with conservatives. 

Which would explain why National is basically indistinguishable from Labour right now. Because these people belong in Labour.

The Nats need to understand there’s nothing embarrassing about being conservative. 

It’s probably become something of a fuddy-duddy label in central Wellington and among hip young Gen Z-ers. 

But if you’re a home owner who is sick of watching ram raids and smash and grabs and you're among the 96 percent of NZ who don’t intend to vote for the Maori party, you probably don’t mind a bit of conservative politics. 

As much as having to back down sucks for National, it's good for them. 

Because it’s probably what their voters want- and aren’t embarrassed to say they want.

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