Photo: TVNZ

Prime Minister Helen Clark has announced New Zealander's will head to the election booths on Saturday November 8.

The announcement was made this afternoon, following weeks of speculation and anticipation. Left to the last minute, the date is just one week before the last possible date that the election could have been held (November 15).

Dissolution of parliament will take place on October 3, writ day will be October 8 and nomination day will take place on October 14.

Clark held a press conference today where she laid down the foundations of how Labour would fight the election, waiting until the very end to announce the date.

"This election is about trust. It's about which leader and which major party we New Zealanders trust our families' and country's future with," Clark said.

The Labour Party has been trailing National in the ONE News Colmar Brunton poll since the last election in 2005.

In the latest ONE News Colmar Brunton poll, National were on 51% support. Labour had closed the gap a little on the previous month moving up to two points to 37%. The September Colmar Brunton poll results will be released on Sunday at 6.00pm.

Tags: helen clark, NZ election, politics