PM punts for Cunliffe, iPredict for Parker

Of the three Davids vying for Labour leadership, David Culiffe is Prime Minister John Key's pick.

"If I had to have a punt I'd say Cunliffe," Mr Key told NewsTalkZB this morning.

"But it's very hard to tell. He's not very well liked by his caucus."

NBR Rich Lister's pick
The former associate finance minister got a more positive endorsement from Fairfax director, Trade Me founder and NBR Rich Lister Sam Morgan, who told his social media followers, "David Cunliffe is the natural leader of the Labour Party. Super smart, hard working and with work experience in the real world to boot."

The most business-friendly element of the Harvard-trained Mr Cunliffe's CV is his four years with Boston Consulting Group.

iPredict punters pick Parker
Punters on the iPredict marketplace - today crowing about the accuracy of its election predictions - at midday today were betting David Parker has 61.5% chance of replacing Phil Goff as leader, up 53% today. Mr Parker bills himself in business-friendly language, saying he is a "a seasoned lawyer, company director and CEO of many start-ups."

The prime minister also had some commentary on Mr Parker, saying it was not clear if he wanted the job.

A separate iPredict contract gives David Cunliffe a 41.7% chance of becoming the new Labour leader.

Despite - or perhaps because of - being a close friend of Phil Goff, David Shearer's iPredict contract gives him only a 5.4% probability of becoming leader. Mr Shearer was a professional do-gooder before entering Parliament, working on relief projects for Save The Children, the UN and others.

The last day of his acquaintance
Labour leader Phil Goff has said he will announce his decision about his leadership to his caucaus tomorrow.

He is widely tipped to quit.

David Cunliffe (number 3 on Labour's list), David Parker (number 4) and David Shearer (number 31) are seen as the leading contenders to replace Mr Goff, who is expected to announce his pending resignation tomorrow, but not step down until the New Year. 

Mr Goff has already said he will serve a full term as an MP.