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Epsom (New Zealand electorate)

Field	Value
electorate	Epsom
map	Epsom 2025 electorate boundaries.svg
formation	1996
party
member_image
member_elected
previous_mp
previous_mp_party
partyvote_votes_total	40637
partyvote_party_1	New Zealand National Party
partyvote_votes_1	20948
partyvote_party_2	New Zealand Labour Party
partyvote_votes_2	5945
partyvote_party_3	Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
partyvote_votes_3	5507
partyvote_party_4	ACT New Zealand
partyvote_votes_4	5041
partyvote_party_5	The Opportunities Party
partyvote_votes_5	1307
partyvote_date	2023
region	Auckland
character	Urban and suburban
member
list_mps

Epsom is a New Zealand electorate in Auckland, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. Since the 2014 general election, Epsom has been represented by David Seymour, the leader of the ACT Party.

Epsom has been an important electorate in New Zealand politics as, since 2005, it has allowed the ACT Party to gain seats in parliament without meeting the five percent party vote threshold as the party leaders David Seymour, John Banks and Rodney Hide have each won the electorate.

Population centres

Epsom is based around central and eastern Auckland isthmus. It contains the suburbs of Parnell, Remuera, Mount Eden, Newmarket, half of Greenlane and the eponymous suburb of Epsom. Under boundary changes resulting from the 2006 census, Epsom was enlarged to include the central city suburb of Grafton, but most of the area was lost again following the 2013 census. In the 2025 boundary review, the electorate would gain Grafton, Newton and Eden Terrace from Auckland Central and lose Balmoral to Mount Albert, though Epsom would retain part of Balmoral after public consultation. It is New Zealand's smallest electorate, covering just 20 km2.

Epsom was created ahead of the first Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) election in 1996, carved out of the Remuera and Eden seats. Remuera was a safe seat for the National Party, having never elected a member of parliament from the Labour Party, while Eden was a bellwether seat, changing hands with the change of government. Both of these seats were held by National MPs – Christine Fletcher in Eden and Doug (later Sir Douglas) Graham in Remuera.

The electorate's population is predominantly European New Zealanders with a significant Asian population. The electorate has the highest proportion of people earning over $150,000 a year in all New Zealand electorates, per the 2018 census.

History

The Epsom seat was first contested in New Zealand's first MMP election in 1996. The National party candidate was Christine Fletcher; she came out of the election with the nation's biggest personal majority: a 19,000 vote margin over the second placed Labour candidate, Helen Duncan.

With Fletcher standing down at the 1999 election to focus on her role as the newly elected Mayor of Auckland, the electorate battle was a contest between new National candidate Richard Worth and ACT List MP Rodney Hide. Worth won the seat by approximately 1,900 votes. In 2002, he easily retained Epsom, with other parties contesting only the party vote.

The 2005 race for Epsom was won by Rodney Hide after a tough contest for the personal vote. As the leader of ACT, Hide was determined to contest Epsom in order to guarantee his party's representation in the next parliament, should ACT not break the five percent threshold – under New Zealand electoral law, a party can gain representation by either getting five percent of the vote or by winning one or more electoral seats.

As it became more likely ACT would not break five percent, the campaign in Epsom became more intense, with Hide lobbying voters to vote strategically to keep ACT in Parliament, a message that ultimately prevailed, with National MP Richard Worth, defeated by 3,102 votes on election night and returned to Parliament via the National Party list. Hide's win in Epsom also allowed ACT member Heather Roy to enter parliament.

Hide increased his majority in 2008, and winning Epsom allowed four other ACT MPs to enter parliament. But Hide stepped down as ACT leader in April 2011 after succumbing to a leadership challenge from Don Brash. The ACT party selected former Auckland Mayor John Banks as their candidate for the 2011 election, who won the contest.

In 2013, John Banks announced that he would leave Parliament at the 2014 election, and so would not contest the Epsom electorate. After being found guilty at trial for electoral fraud, he announced his resignation effective 13 June 2014, leaving the Epsom seat vacant. Due to the proximity of the next general election, Parliament voted by supermajority to avoid a by-election.

Members of Parliament

Key

Election	Winner
	New Zealand National Party}}
	New Zealand National Party}}
	ACT New Zealand}}
	ACT New Zealand}}
	ACT New Zealand}}"
2017 election
2020 election
	2023 election

List MPs

Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the Epsom electorate. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.

Election	Representatives
1998	New Zealand Labour Party}}
	ACT New Zealand}}
	ACT New Zealand}}
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand}}		Keith Locke
	Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand}}
New Zealand National Party}}		Richard Worth
	Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand}}
New Zealand National Party}}		Richard Worth
	New Zealand National Party}}
New Zealand Labour Party}}		David Parker
	Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand}}
New Zealand National Party}}		Paul Goldsmith
	New Zealand National Party}}
New Zealand Labour Party}}		David Parker
	New Zealand National Party}}
New Zealand Labour Party}}		Camilla Belich
	New Zealand National Party}}
New Zealand Labour Party}}		Camilla Belich
New Zealand First}}		Tanya Unkovich
2024	Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand}}

Election results

2023 election

2020 election

2017 election

2014 election

2011 election

Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 48,761

2008 election

2005 election

2002 election

1999 election

1996 election

Footnotes

References

"Boundary review objections released".
(8 August 2025). "Report of the Representation Commission 2025". Representation Commission.
(27 April 2021). "Epsom – Electorate Profile". Parliamentary Library.
"Hon Rodney Hide". New Zealand Parliament.
Satherley, Dan. (27 April 2011). "Rodney Hide resigns, makes way for Brash". [[3 News]].
"Official Count Results – Epsom". New Zealand Electoral Commission.
Audrey Young. (8 June 2014). "John Banks to resign from Parliament". The New Zealand Herald.
(18 June 2014). "Parliament avoids calling by-election". Radio New Zealand.
"Epsom - Official Result".
(6 November 2020). "Official Count Results – Epsom (2020)". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
"Party Votes and Turnout by Electorate (2020)". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
(7 October 2017). "Official Count Results – Epsom (2017)". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
"Party Votes and Turnout by Electorate (2017)". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
Electoral Commission. (10 October 2014). "Official Count Results – Epsom".
(2 November 2011). "Information for Voters in Epsom". Elections New Zealand.
(28 May 2011). "Banks confirmed as Epsom candidate". The New Zealand Herald.
(28 August 2011). "ACT Releases Its Party List for 2011 General Election". ACT New Zealand.
(18 July 2011). "National announces Epsom candidate". stuff.co.nz.
(9 August 2011). "David Parker confirmed as Labour's Epsom candidate". Press Release: Labour Party (via Scoop.co.nz).
(28 January 2011). "Auckland Council Official Stands Against Minister for Local Government". Press Release:Green Party (via Scoop.co.nz).
(1 November 2011). "Conservative List Released". Press Release: Conservative Party (via Scoop.co.nz).
(8 October 2011). "Mana Announces Four Candidates to Run in Auckland". Press Release: Mana Party (via Scoop.co.nz).
(21 October 2011). "Enrolment statistics". Electoral Commission.
[http://2008.electionresults.govt.nz/electorate-12.html 2008 election results] {{webarchive. link. (11 December 2008)
(1 October 2005). "Official Count Results – Epsom (2005)". [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand).
"Official Count Results (1999) – Electoral Votes for registered parties by electorate". NZ Electoral Commission.
"Official Count Results (1999) – Candidate Vote Details". NZ Electoral Commission.
"Electorate Candidate and Party Votes Recorded at Each Polling Place – Epsom, 1996".
"Part III – Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties". Electoral Commission.
"Part III – Party Lists of unsuccessful Registered Parties". Electoral Commission.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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