Willoughby is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It was previously represented by

Gladys Berejiklian Gladys Berejiklian (born 22 September 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the 45th premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party from 2017 to 2021. Berejiklian became a member ...

of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

, who announced on 1 October 2021 that she would resign from the Legislative Assembly and as Premier of New South Wales. She was replaced at the

2022 Willoughby state by-election A by-election was held in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Willoughby on 12 February 2022, caused by the resignation of Premier of New South Wales and Liberal MP Gladys Berejiklian. The Willoughby by-election was held on the sa ...

on 12 February 2022 by Liberal Tim James.

History

Willoughby was an electoral district of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

, first created in 1894 with the abolition of multi-member electoral districts from part of St Leonards, and named after and including the Sydney suburb of Willoughby. It was abolished in 1904 and re-established in 1913. In 1920 with the introduction of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

, it was absorbed into the multi-member electorate of

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came a ...

along with Burwood and Gordon. It was recreated in 1927 with the return to single-member electorates. It was abolished in 1988, with most of its territory becoming Middle Harbour. In 1991, Middle Harbour was abolished and replaced by a recreated Willoughby. Like most seats in the North Shore, Willoughby is a stronghold for the

. Counting its time as Middle Harbour, the Liberals or their predecessors have held the seat for all but two terms since the return to single-member seats in 1927. The one break in this tradition came in the " Wranslide" of

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...

, when a split in the Liberal vote allowed 's Eddie Britt to sweep into office. However, a redistribution ahead of the 1981 election erased Britt's majority and made Willoughby notionally Liberal. Britt narrowly lost to future state opposition leader Peter Collins even in the face of the second "Wranslide." The seat reverted to form in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

, with Collins easily seeing off Britt in a rematch. Since then, Labor has usually run dead in Willoughby, and on some occasions has been pushed into third place. The only time the Liberal hold on the seat has been seriously threatened since the 1980s came on Collins' retirement in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

. Pat Reilly, the longtime mayor of the

City of Willoughby The City of Willoughby is a Local government in Australia, local government area on the North Shore (Sydney), Lower North Shore of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located north of the Sydney central business d ...

, ran as an independent and nearly defeated Liberal

on Labor preferences. The swing against the Liberals was large enough to drop the Liberal margin over Labor to 7.2 percent, the closest in two decades. However, Berejiklian easily dispatched Reilly in a rematch and has held the seat without serious difficulty ever since. Willoughby is one of four electorates in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly to have been held by two Premiers of New South Wales while in office. Both Premiers (Sir) Charles Wade and Gladys Berejiklian held Willoughby while in office, the other three electorates being Ku-ring-gai, Maroubra and Wollondilly. Berejiklian has facts in common with her predecessor in Willoughby, Collins in that both had served as state Liberal leaders and prior to that served as Deputy Liberal leader and Treasurer although unlike Collins, Berejiklian held the positions of Deputy Liberal leader and Treasurer simultaneously.

Members for Willoughby

Election results

References

External links

* {{Members of the Parliament of New South Wales Willoughby 1894 establishments in Australia Willoughby 1904 disestablishments in Australia Willoughby 1913 establishments in Australia Willoughby 1920 disestablishments in Australia Willoughby 1927 establishments in Australia Willoughby 1988 disestablishments in Australia Willoughby 1991 establishments in Australia Willoughby