Ilam is a New Zealand parliamentary

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, ...

. Formed for the , it was held by

Gerry Brownlee Gerard Anthony Brownlee (born 4 February 1956) is a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand National Party. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1996, was Leader of the House, Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery and Minister of ...

of the National Party until the , when

Sarah Pallett Sarah Jean Pallett is a New Zealand politician and the current Member of Parliament for Ilam in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party. Early life and career Pallett was born in Jersey, Channel Islands and spent her early years in ...

of the Labour Party unseated Brownlee in an

upset victory An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win (the "favorite"), either loses to or draws/ties a game with an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the convent ...

Population centres

Encompassing many of Christchurch's most affluent suburbs, Ilam was considered a safe National seat until the . The electorate includes the suburbs of

Riccarton Riccarton may refer to: New Zealand * Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch ** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it ** The location of Riccarton Race Course * a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago Scotlan ...

(north of Riccarton Road),

Upper Riccarton Upper Riccarton is a suburb of Christchurch. It is due west of Riccarton. Upper Riccarton is made up of residential, retail and education areas. It includes a major intersection known as "Church Corner" (the intersection of Riccarton, Main Sout ...

Fendalton Fendalton is a suburb of Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. History Fendalton was originally known as Fendall Town, named after the original settler of the land, Walpole Chesshyre Fendall (1830–1913). Fendall emigrated from Y ...

, Burnside,

Avonhead Avonhead is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Christchurch. It has two primary schools, a shopping centre and several parks. Etymology Engineer William Bayley Bray (1812–1885) arrived in Canterbury in January 1851 on the ''Duke of Bronte'' ...

, Merivale, Bishopdale, Ilam,

Russley Russley is a suburb on the western side of Christchurch city. The suburb is named after Russley Farm, which was owned by William Chisnell (1827–1876) but sold shortly before his death. Demographics The statistical area of Hawthornden, which ...

and

Bryndwr Bryndwr ( ; ) is a suburb in the north-west of Christchurch, New Zealand. Development Bryndwr, meaning 'hillside by water' (from ''Bryn'' "hillside" + ''dŵr'' "by water"), and probably named for the slopes beside the Wairarapa and Waimairi str ...

. In 2008, the boundaries were Deans Avenue, the Avon River, Bealey Avenue, Papanui Road, Harewood Road, Russley Road, Ansonby Street, Cutts Road, Yaldhurst Road and Riccarton Road. The 2013/14 redistribution did not alter the boundaries of the Ilam electorate. The 2020 redistribution, however, added Avonhead from and a large section of around McLeans Island and

Christchurch Airport Christchurch Airport is the main airport that serves Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Harewood. Christchurch (Harewood) Airport officially opened on 18 May 1940 and became New Zea ...

History

The Ilam electorate was formed for the , mostly evolving from the electorate.

from the National Party was the first elected representative and held the electorate until

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, when he lost the electorate to Labour's

in an upset.

Members of Parliament

Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at a general election. Key

List MPs

Members of Parliament elected from

party lists An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the Ilam electorate. Unless otherwise stated, all MPs terms began and ended at general elections.

Election results

2020 election

2017 election

2014 election

2011 election

2008 election

2005 election

2002 election

1999 election

1996 election

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilam (New Zealand Electorate) New Zealand electorates Politics of Christchurch