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 in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district or c ...

. 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 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 (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. 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.

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 and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, when he lost the electorate to Labour's Sarah Pallett 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 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