Epsom
Single-member constituency
for the New Zealand House of Representatives
Outline map
Location of Epsomwithin Auckland
RegionAuckland
Area20.02 km2 (7.73 sq mi)
Current constituency
Current MPDavid Seymour
PartyACT
List MPsCamilla Belich (Labour)
Paul Goldsmith (National)
Tanya Unkovich (NZ First)

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. It is New Zealand's smallest electorate, covering just 20 km2 (8 sq mi).[1]

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 median household income is $118,300 – the highest of all New Zealand electorates.[1]

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[2] 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.[3] The ACT party selected former Auckland Mayor John Banks as their candidate for the 2011 election, who won the contest.[4]

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.[5] Due to the proximity of the next general election, Parliament voted by supermajority to avoid a by-election.[6]

Members of Parliament

Key

  National   ACT   Labour   Green

Election Winner
1996 election Christine Fletcher
1999 election Richard Worth
2002 election
2005 election Rodney Hide
2008 election
2011 election John Banks
2014 election David Seymour
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 Helen Duncan[i]
1999 election Rodney Hide
2002 election Rodney Hide
Keith Locke
2005 election Keith Locke
Richard Worth
2008 election Keith Locke
Richard Worth[ii]
2011 election Paul Goldsmith
David Parker
2014 election Julie Anne Genter
Paul Goldsmith
2017 election Paul Goldsmith
David Parker
2020 election Paul Goldsmith
Camilla Belich
2023 election Paul Goldsmith
Camilla Belich
Tanya Unkovich
  1. ^ Replaced Jill White as list MP
  2. ^ Resigned June 2009, list place taken by Cam Calder

Election results

2023 election

2023 general election: Epsom[7]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
ACT Green tickY David Seymour 17,826 44.43 -2.54 5,041 12.40 +2.04
National Paul Goldsmith 9,684 24.14 +8.73 20,948 51.54 +14.27
Labour Camilla Belich 6,189 15.42 -9.33 5,945 14.62 -21.25
Green Lawrence Xu-Nan 3,537 8.81 +1.34 5,507 13.55 +2.62
Opportunities Nina Asu 1,803 4.49 +2.35 1,307 3.21 +1.26
NZ First Tanya Unkovich 573 1.42 — 1,059 2.60 +1.16
New Zealand Loyal Anna Rotheray 164 0.40 — 123 0.30 —
Te Pāti Māori   299 0.73 +0.48
NewZeal   76 0.18 −+0.12
Legalise Cannabis   66 0.16 —
Freedoms NZ   34 0.08 —
New Conservatives   28 0.06 -0.44
Women's Rights   26 0.06 —
DemocracyNZ   16 0.03 —
New Nation   5 0.01 —
Leighton Baker Party   2 0.00 —
Informal votes 339 109
Total valid votes 40,115 40,637
ACT hold Majority 8,142 20.29 -1.93

2020 election

2020 general election: Epsom[8]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
ACT Green tickY David Seymour 19,500 46.97 +3.80 4,355 10.36 +8.58
Labour Camilla Belich 10,276 24.75 +6.26 15,078 35.87 +11.32
National Paul Goldsmith 6,397 15.41 −13.32 15,668 37.27 −21.37
Green Kyle MacDonald 3,101 7.47 +0.19 4,596 10.93 +2.56
Opportunities Adriana Christie 889 2.14 — 822 1.95 +1.75
TEA Noel Jiang 337 0.81 — 112 0.26 —
New Conservative Norman Sutton 231 0.79 +0.19 211 0.50 +0.30
Advance NZ Faith-Joy Aaron 166 0.39 — 147 0.34 —
Sustainable NZ Shannon Withers 72 0.17 — 30 0.07 —
Outdoors Maia Prochazka 31 0.07 — 7 0.01 −0.19
Not A Party Finn Harris 24 0.05 —
NZ First   609 1.44 −1.71
Māori Party   108 0.25 −0.07
Legalise Cannabis   38 0.08 −0.02
ONE   27 0.06 —
Social Credit   8 0.01 —
Vision NZ   8 0.01 —
Heartland   6 0.01 —
Informal votes 484 203
Total valid votes 41,508 42,031
Turnout 42,311 82.84[9] +3.17
ACT hold Majority 9,224 22.22 +7.78

2017 election

2017 general election: Epsom[10]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
ACT Green tickY David Seymour 16,505 43.17 +0.09 696 1.78 −0.94
National Paul Goldsmith 10,986 28.73 −2.87 22,875 58.64 −4.41
Labour David Parker 7,067 18.49 +9.13 9,575 24.55 +11.16
Green Barry Coates 2,785 7.28 −0.87 3,263 8.37 −4.13
NZ First Julian Paul 657 1.72 +0.22 1,229 3.15 −0.32
Conservative Leighton Baker 230 0.60 −4.05 80 0.20 −2.27
Opportunities   1,043 2.67 —
Māori Party   124 0.32 −0.14
Legalise Cannabis   38 0.10 −0.10
People's Party   34 0.09 —
United Future   24 0.06 −0.10
Ban 1080   9 0.02 0.00
Democrats   7 0.02 −0.01
Outdoors   7 0.02 —
Internet   6 0.02 −0.81[a]
Mana Party   6 0.02 −0.81[b]
Informal votes 317 76
Total valid votes 38,230 39,008
Turnout 39,422 79.67[11] +1.58
ACT hold Majority 5,519 14.44 +3.16

2014 election

2014 general election: Epsom[12]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
ACT David Seymour 15,966 43.08 −1.02 1,023 2.72 +0.17
National Paul Goldsmith 11,716 31.61 −6.19 23,904 63.45 −1.07
Labour Michael Wood 3,470 9.36 −1.09 5,045 13.39 −2.16
Green Julie Anne Genter 3,021 8.15 +2.14 4,706 12.49 +0.46
Conservative Christine Rankin 1,725 4.65 +3.70 932 2.47 +1.35
NZ First Cliff Lyon 621 1.68 +1.68 1,308 3.47 +0.86
Mana Patrick O'Dea 106 0.29 +0.11
Independent Grace Haden 59 0.16 +0.16
Independent Matthew Goode 37 0.10 −0.06
Independent Susanna Kruger 31 0.08 +0.08
Independent Adam Holland 21 0.06 +0.06
Internet Mana   312 0.83 +0.67[c]
Māori Party   174 0.46 −0.13
Legalise Cannabis   76 0.20 −0.12
United Future   61 0.16 −0.16
Civilian   17 0.05 +0.05
Democrats   10 0.03 +0.01
Ban 1080   7 0.02 +0.02
Focus   4 0.01 +0.01
Independent Coalition   3 0.01 +0.01
Informal votes 286 93
Total valid votes 37,059 37,675
Turnout 37,768 78.09 +2.36
ACT hold Majority 4,250 11.28 +4.98

2011 election

2011 general election: Epsom[4]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
ACT John Banks 15,835 44.10 -11.96 939 2.55 -3.67
National Paul Goldsmith 13,574 37.80 +15.96 23,725 64.52 +1.93
Labour David Parker 3,751 10.45 -3.13 5,716 15.55 -4.54
Green David Hay 2,160 6.01 -1.39 4,424 12.03 +5.10
Conservative Simon Kan 342 0.95 +0.95 412 1.12 +1.12
Independent Penny Bright 124 0.35 +0.35
Mana Patrick O'Dea 66 0.18 +0.18 91 0.16 +0.16
Independent Matthew Goode 59 0.16 +0.16
NZ First   959 2.61 +1.16
Māori Party   217 0.59 +0.01
Legalise Cannabis   118 0.32 +0.14
United Future   116 0.32 -0.35
Libertarianz   31 0.08 +0.03
Alliance   12 0.03 -0.001
Democrats   9 0.02 +0.01
Informal votes 443 160
Total valid votes 35,911 36,769
ACT hold Majority 2,261 6.30 -27.92

Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 48,761[13]

2008 election

2008 general election: Epsom[14]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
ACT Green tickY Rodney Hide 21,102 56.06 +13.44 2,389 6.22 +2.83
National Richard Worth 8,220 21.84 -12.11 24,030 62.60 +4.09
Labour Kate Sutton 5,112 13.58 -3.57 7,711 20.09 -7.14
Green Keith Locke 2,787 7.40 +3.18 2,662 6.93 +1.60
United Future Janet Tuck 163 0.43 -0.52 258 0.67 -1.07
Kiwi Grace Haden 114 0.30 – 80 0.21 –
RAM Rafe Copeland 79 0.21 – 27 0.07 –
Human Rights Andrena Bishop 68 0.18 +0.09
NZ First   557 1.45 -0.98
Māori Party   222 0.58 +0.28
Progressive   133 0.35 -0.22
Bill and Ben   120 0.31 –
Legalise Cannabis   70 0.18 -0.11
Family Party   67 0.17 –
Libertarianz   19 0.05 -0.01
Alliance   13 0.03 +0.00
Workers Party   13 0.03 –
Pacific   10 0.03 –
Democrats   6 0.02 -0.00
RONZ   2 0.01 +0.00
Informal votes 259 96
Total valid votes 37,645 38,389
ACT hold Majority 12,882 34.22 +25.55

2005 election

2005 general election: Epsom[15]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
ACT Rodney Hide 15,251 42.62 1,237 3.40
National Red XN Richard Worth 12,149 33.95 21,310 58.51
Labour Stuart Nash 6,138 17.15 9,915 27.22
Green Keith Locke 1,513 4.23 1,941 5.33
United Future Janet Tuck 340 0.95 636 1.75
Progressive Fatima Ashrafi 149 0.42 205 0.56
Destiny Rod Gabb 114 0.32 66 0.18
Direct Democracy Tin Yau Chan 97 0.27 9 0.02
Independent Anthony Van Den Heuvel 34 0.10
NZ First   887 2.44
Māori Party   107 0.29
Christian Heritage   33 0.09
Legalise Cannabis   25 0.07
Libertarianz   20 0.05
Alliance   11 0.03
99 MP   6 0.02
Democrats   6 0.02
Family Rights   3 0.01
One NZ   3 0.01
RONZ   1 0.003
Informal votes 245 94
Total valid votes 35,785 36,421
ACT gain from National Majority 3,102 8.67

2002 election

2002 general election: Epsom
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
National Green tickY Richard Worth 13,563 42.69 +5.86 9,499 29.24 -13.96
Labour Di Nash 7,944 25.00 9,328 28.72 +3.37
ACT Rodney Hide 7,059 22.22 -8.93 6,652 20.48 +4.08
Green Keith Locke 1,831 5.76 2,161 6.65 +0.90
United Future Cindy Ruakere 731 2.30 1,857 5.72
Christian Heritage Tony Molloy 329 1.04 209 0.64 -0.49
Alliance Julie Fairey 317 1.00 332 1.02 -2.33
NZ First   1,994 6.14 +3.83
Progressive   254 0.78
Legalise Cannabis   90 0.28 -0.23
ORNZ   83 0.26
One NZ   12 0.04 0.00
Mana Māori   6 0.02 0.00
NMP   4 0.01 -0.01
Informal votes 409 72
Total valid votes 31,774 32,481
National hold Majority 5,619 17.69 +12.01

1999 election

1999 general election: Epsom[16][17]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
National Richard Worth 12,362 36.83 14,626 43.20 +2.11
ACT Rodney Hide 10,453 31.15 5,551 16.40 -5.64
Labour David Jacobs 6,815 20.31 8,583 25.35 +6.19
Green Janet McVeagh 1,601 4.77 1,946 5.75
Alliance Mark O'Brien 895 2.67 1,133 3.35 -1.10
Christian Heritage Ewen McQueen 455 1.36 -0.24[d] 381 1.13
NZ First Brent Catchpole 384 1.14 783 2.31 -3.40
Legalise Cannabis Caleb Armstrong 287 0.86 171 0.51 -0.67
McGillicuddy Serious Worik Turei Stanton 135 0.40 54 0.16 -0.09
Independent Michael MacDonald 119 0.35
Natural Law Ray Cain 56 0.17 37 0.11 -0.04
Christian Democrats   229 0.68
United NZ   191 0.56 -0.69
Libertarianz   80 0.24 +0.08
Animals First   43 0.13 -0.02
One NZ   15 0.04
Mauri Pacific   8 0.02
Mana Māori   7 0.02 -0.01
NMP   7 0.02
Republican   6 0.02
South Island   2 0.01
The People's Choice   1 0.00
Freedom Movement   0 0.00
Informal votes 470 177
Total valid votes 33,561 33,854
National hold Majority 1,908 5.68

1996 election

1996 general election: Epsom[18][19][20]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
National Christine Fletcher 25,217 69.95 14,870 41.09
Labour Helen Duncan 4,575 12.69 6,935 19.16
Alliance Mary Tierney 1,787 4.96 1,611 4.45
NZ First Gavin Logan 1,342 3.72 2,067 5.71
ACT John Boscawen 1,134 3.15 7,976 22.04
Christian Coalition Ewen McQueen 577 1.60 1,116 3.08
Libertarianz Lindsay Perigo 534 1.48 58 0.16
Progressive Green Rob Fenwick 360 1.00 149 0.41
McGillicuddy Serious Kerry Hoole 247 0.69 91 0.25
Green Society Sam Cunningham 112 0.31 54 0.15
Natural Law Bryan Lee 89 0.25 53 0.15
United NZ Bryan Mockridge 78 0.22 451 1.25
Legalise Cannabis   427 1.18
Ethnic Minority Party 219 0.61
Animals First   53 0.15
Advance New Zealand 17 0.05
Superannuitants & Youth   15 0.04
Asia Pacific United 11 0.03
Mana Māori   11 0.03
Conservatives   8 0.02
Te Tawharau 0 0.00
Informal votes 232 92
Total valid votes 36,052 36,192
National win new seat Majority 20,642 57.26

Footnotes

  1. ^ 2017 Internet Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with Mana Party in the 2014 election
  2. ^ 2017 Mana Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with the Internet Party in the 2014 election
  3. ^ 2014 Internet Mana swing is relative to the votes for Mana in 2011; it shared a party list with Internet in the 2014 election.
  4. ^ Percentage change calculated as a candidate for the Christian Coalition Party in the 1996 election

References

  1. ^ a b "Epsom – Electorate Profile". Parliamentary Library. September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Hon Rodney Hide". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  3. ^ Satherley, Dan (27 April 2011). "Rodney Hide resigns, makes way for Brash". 3 News. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Official Count Results – Epsom". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  5. ^ Audrey Young (8 June 2014). "John Banks to resign from Parliament". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  6. ^ "Parliament avoids calling by-election". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Epsom - Official Result". electionresults.govt.nz/. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Official Count Results – Epsom (2020)". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Party Votes and Turnout by Electorate (2020)". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Official Count Results – Epsom (2017)". Electoral Commission. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Party Votes and Turnout by Electorate (2017)". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  12. ^ Electoral Commission (10 October 2014). "Official Count Results – Epsom". Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Enrolment statistics". Electoral Commission. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 10 November 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  14. ^ 2008 election results Archived 11 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "Official Count Results – Epsom (2005)". Electoral Commission. 1 October 2005. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  16. ^ "Official Count Results (1999) – Electoral Votes for registered parties by electorate". NZ Electoral Commission. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Official Count Results (1999) – Candidate Vote Details". NZ Electoral Commission. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  18. ^ "Electorate Candidate and Party Votes Recorded at Each Polling Place – Epsom, 1996" (PDF). Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  19. ^ "Part III – Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  20. ^ "Part III – Party Lists of unsuccessful Registered Parties" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.

External links

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