Labor shrinks but self-delusion grows Paul Kelly cannot believe Labor's self-denial when its vote is shrinking so steadily: THE Labor Party has shrunk to the humiliation of representing only one-third of the Australian electorate with a primary vote of 33.8 per cent this election, compared with 43.4 per cent at Kevin Rudd's magic victory in 2007... In 1996, when Paul Keating lost to John Howard, the Labor primary vote was 38.8 per cent... So what is the happening with the Coalition? Frankly, it is a different story. Consider the Coalition primary vote across the past four elections: 45.4 per cent (2013), 43.31 per cent (2010), 42 per cent (2007) and 46.7 per cent (2004) ... Consider the Senate. It is hard to believe but Labor is heading towards winning just 12 or 13 out of 40 Senate places, worse than one-third. This humiliation leaves Labor with 25 out of 76 places in the new Senate from July next year.... It is early days yet but the alarm bells are ringing. Senior Labor figures have moved quickly to declare their policies during the past six years were not only right but approaching perfect. The problem, we are told, was the Rudd-Gillard crisis making things impossible. The next Labor denialist narrative is taking shape before your eyes.