It was sort of appropriate that Back to the Future, the iconic sci-fi movie that predicted what would be happening on October the 21st, 2015, was celebrating its predictions.

Labour's Annette King had watched the movie 30 years ago as a fresh faced MP, having come into Parliament the year before in the Lange Labour tide, swept in by the schnapps election.

But not in her wildest dreams could she have predicted that this far on she'd still be one of Labour's most valuable MPs.

The acerbic Tory tongue of Chris Finlayson will take a bit of a biting today as he reflects on his exchange with his first cousin, yes King's his first cussie, when he hissed across Parliament's bear pit at her a couple of years back telling to "give up old girl." She thought he'd said old trout.

Well she's shown him she has the ability to outlive trout of any description, still swimming at the head of the Labour school, just behind the wake created by angry Andy Little who has decided to keep her on as his 2IC, at least until the next election when she'll be celebrating her 70th birthday.

King might be long in the tooth but she knows how to gnash them at the grizzlies on the opposite side of the pit to great effect. But the political performer was seen as a stopgap appointment while Little eased himself into the leadership he won by a whisker.

It was widely expected, and not discounted by the Labour leader, that the youthful Jacinda Ardern would slot into the deputy's role once Labour had set its course.

Unfortunately for Little that course has seen the party flat lining since he took over the job just short of a year ago with his own rating matching his predecessor, Martin Luther Cunliffe's at his lowest point.

But the answer wasn't to set a new course with Ardern who's failed to fire in the bear pit, even if she apparently does have appeal with the great unwashed.

Little's gone for stability as he steers the party to the election in two years time, which is a long time in politics, particularly for a party that's so far kept its policy powder dry.

So the Labour leader's clearly happy to drive the DeLorean time machine with King firmly in the rear vision mirror, on a road he predicts will take them into the Beehive in 2017.

He'll be hoping his prediction's more accurate than Rob Muldoon's was during the movie's production stage, when he sneered: "I'll be here long after you're gone Mr Soper."