Palmerston North (electorate)

Electoral district in Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Palmerston North is a parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The electorate was first formed for the 1890 election and was called Palmerston until 1938. The current MP for Palmerston North is Tangi Utikere of the Labour Party. He has held this position since the 2020 election.

Formation1963

RegionManawatū-Whanganui

CharacterUrban and suburban

Term3 years

Quick facts Formation, Region ...

Palmerston North

Single-member general constituency for the New Zealand House of Representatives

Formation

1963

Region

Manawatū-Whanganui

Character

Urban and suburban

Term

3 years

Member for Palmerston North

Tangi Utikere
since 17 October 2020

Party

Labour

List MPs

Teanau Tuiono (Green)

Previous MP

Iain Lees-Galloway (Labour)

Party vote distribution

Profile

In December 1887, the House of Representatives voted to reduce its membership from general electorates from 91 to 70. The 1890 electoral redistribution used the same 1886 census data used for the 1887 electoral redistribution. In addition, three-member electorates were introduced in the four main centres. This resulted in a major restructuring of electorates, and Palmerston was one of four electorates to be first created for the 1890 election.^[1]

Palmerston North reached its current approximate size at the expense of the old Manawatu electorate in the lead up to the introduction of mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting in 1996. The boundaries of the Palmerston North electorate were last adjusted in the 2007 redistribution, when the electorate became fully urban and covered all of the urbanised part of Palmerston North City, with the towns in its orbit such as Ashhurst and Linton becoming part of the neighbouring electorate of Rangitīkei. To counter the population loss on the Manawatu River's left bank, the section of the city on the right bank, including the suburb of Milson, was moved in at the same time.^[2] No boundary adjustments were undertaken in the subsequent 2013/14 redistribution.^[3] In the 2025 boundary review, the electorate would expand to include the outer suburbs of Aokautere, Fitzherbert, Longburn, Turitea, Whakarongo and the town of Bunnythorpe.^[4]

At the 2013 census, the Palmerston North electorate reported the highest share of those working in the retail trade industry (11.4%); those whose occupation was a community and personal service worker (10.9%); and those whose households used mains (natural) gas as a heating fuel. Among general electorates, Palmerston North had the second-highest share of those working in the education and training sector (11.8%), and people affiliated with the Brethren religious denomination (1.2%).^[5]

History

The electorate has been loyal to the Labour Party, not having elected a National MP since 1975, and having not re-elected a National MP since 1966.

The first representative of the Palmerston electorate was James Wilson.^[6] Wilson previously represented the Foxton electorate until its abolition in 1890.^[7] In the 1890 election, Wilson beat Frederick Pirani by 61 votes.^[8] In the 1893 election, Wilson stood successfully in the Otaki electorate^[6] and Palmerston was won by Pirani, who was confirmed in 1896 and 1899,^[9] but defeated in 1902 when he contested the Hutt electorate.^[10] In the 1899 election, Prime Minister Richard Seddon expressed his opposition to Pirani (who had previously stood for the Liberal Party) by endorsing William Thomas Wood, who came second that year.^[8]

Wood was the successful candidate in the 1902 election, and he was confirmed in 1905.^[11] The 1908 election was held under the Second Ballot Act, contested by three candidates. David Buick, Wood and W. Milverton received 2675, 2626 and 123 votes, respectively. As Buick did not receive an absolute majority, a second ballot was required.^[12] Buick standing for the Reform Party was again successful in the second round of voting and was thus elected.^[13] Buick was re-elected in 1911 and 1914, but died in office on 18 November 1918 during the influenza epidemic.^[14]

Jimmy Nash, the sitting Mayor of Palmerston North, won the resulting by-election on 19 December 1918.^[15] Nash was confirmed at the next five general elections,^[15] but was defeated in the 1935 election by Joe Hodgens of the Labour Party in an election also contested by the then-mayor, Gus Mansford.^[16] Hodgens had previously contested the electorate in the 1922 and 1931 elections. He retired from the electorate at the 1946 election due to the deteriorating health of his wife.^[16]

The 1946 election was contested between Ormond Wilson for Labour and Mansford, whose relationship with the National Party was strained, since his 1935 election campaign had contributed to the defeat of Nash. Mansford failed to get nominated by the National Party for the 1938 and 1943 elections. So in 1946, the National Party decided not to stand a candidate, with Mansford running as an Independent. Wilson obtained a majority of 928 votes.^[17]

Wilson lost the subsequent election in 1949 against Blair Tennent of the National Party.^[18]^[19] Tennent was confirmed at the subsequent election, but then lost against the Labour candidate, Philip Skoglund, in the 1954 election.^[19] Skoglund contested the 1957 election against Bill Brown of the National Party and was confirmed by the voters. However, in the 1960 election, Brown beat Skoglund by the narrow majority of 123 votes. At the 1963 election, Brown had a 772-vote majority to Skoglund. The 1966 election was contested by Brown against Labour's Joe Walding, with Brown holding a 259-vote majority. Brown died in office on 16 October 1967 at a function in Kaiapoi.^[20]

The resulting 1967 by-election was contested by five candidates: Walding (Labour Party), Gordon Cruden (National Party), John O'Brien (Social Credit Party), Goldingham (Progress) and P. J. Wedderspoon (Democratic Labour). Walding obtained a majority of 592 votes.^[21] Walding represented the Palmerston North electorate until the 1975 election, when he was defeated by John Lithgow, and from 1978 to 1981. Six months prior to the 1981 election, he announced his retirement from Parliament.^[21]

The Labour nomination was hotly contested and Trevor de Cleene, a good friend of Walding, was the most experienced candidate who put his name forward for selection, and despite concerns about his often controversial nature, he was nominated by the party. The candidate put forward by National was his old foe Brian Elwood, with whom he had worked on the Palmerston North City Council for many years, and against whom he lost the mayoralty contest in 1974. Elwood and de Cleene received 8315 and 10425 votes, respectively (representing 35.7% and 48.5% of the vote), with de Cleene thus entering Parliament in 1981.^[22] De Cleene won the 1984 election, called early by Robert Muldoon, with an increased majority over National's candidate, C G Singleton.^[22] In the 1987 election, de Cleene raised his share of the vote to 56.2%, defeating National's Paul Curry. He did not seek re-election in the 1990 election.^[22]

Iain Lees-Galloway was selected by the Labour Party as successor to retiring MP Steve Maharey, who became Vice Chancellor of Massey University, in a contested Labour Party selection for the 2008 election.^[23] Lees-Galloway defeated the National Party candidate, Malcolm Plimmer, with a majority of 1,117 votes.^[24]^[25] In the 2011 election, Lees-Galloway was confirmed with an increased majority of 3,285 votes, defeating National's Leonie Hapeta.^[26] In the 2014 election, Lees-Galloway was challenged by the Mayor of Palmerston North, Jono Naylor, but remained successful.^[27] Lees-Galloway had a decreased majority of 2,212 votes over Naylor.^[28] Naylor was the lowest-ranked National MP who entered Parliament via their list.^[29]^[30] Ian Lees-Galloway retired before the 2020 election and was replaced by Tangi Utikere, the city's deputy mayor, as the electorate's MP.

Members of Parliament

Key

Independent Conservative Liberal Independent Liberal Reform Labour National NZ First

More information Election, Winner ...

Election	Winner
1890 election		James Wilson
1893 election		Frederick Pirani
1896 election
1899 election
1902 election		William Wood
1905 election		William Wood
1908 election		David Buick
1908 election
1911 election
1914 election
1918 by-election		Jimmy Nash
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election
1931 election
1935 election		Joe Hodgens
1938 election
1943 election
1946 election		Ormond Wilson
1949 election		Blair Tennent
1951 election		Blair Tennent
1954 election		Philip Skoglund
1957 election		Philip Skoglund
1960 election		Bill Brown
1963 election
1966 election
1967 by-election		Joe Walding
1969 election
1972 election
1975 election		John Lithgow
1978 election		Joe Walding
1981 election		Trevor de Cleene
1984 election
1987 election
1990 election		Steve Maharey
1993 election
1996 election
1999 election
2002 election
2005 election
2008 election		Iain Lees-Galloway
2011 election
2014 election
2017 election
2020 election		Tangi Utikere
2023 election		Tangi Utikere

List MPs

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

More information Election, Winner ...

Election	Winner
2014 election		Jono Naylor
2014 election		Darroch Ball
2017 election		Darroch Ball
2020 election		Teanau Tuiono
2023 election		Teanau Tuiono

Election results

2026 election

The next election will be held on 7 November 2026. Candidates for Palmerston North are listed at Candidates in the 2026 New Zealand general election by electorate § Palmerston North. Official results will be available after 27 November 2026.^[31]

2023 election

More information 2023 general election, Notes: ...

2023 general election: Palmerston North^[32]
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 Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	Labour	Y Tangi Utikere		15,339	43.06	-16.50	11,293	31.30	-23.59
	National	Ankit Bansal		12,252	34.39		12,195	33.80	+11.88
	Green	Teanau Tuiono		3,162	8.87	+3.45	4,454	12.34	+4.93
	ACT	Mike Hartnett		2,841	7.97		2,970	8.23	+1.47
	NZ Loyal	Dean Grant		1,016	2.85		437	1.21
	Animal Justice	Douglas Begg		402	1.12		96	0.26
	NZ First						2,242	6.21	+3.23
	Opportunities						821	2.27	+0.32
	Te Pāti Māori						625	1.73	+1.27
	NewZeal						290	0.80	+0.51
	Legalise Cannabis						199	0.55	+0.15
	Freedoms NZ						77	0.21
	New Conservative						61	0.16	-1.65
	DemocracyNZ						47	0.13
	Women's Rights						30	0.08
	Leighton Baker Party						23	0.06
	New Nation						17	0.04
Informal votes				608			201
Total valid votes				35,620			36,078
	Labour hold		Majority	3,087	8.66	-24.43

2020 election

More information 2020 general election, Notes: ...

2020 general election: Palmerston North^[33]
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 Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tangi Utikere		22,516	59.56	+6.47	21,315	54.89	+13.52
	National	William Wood		10,008	26.47	-8.11	8,513	21.92	-18.40
	Green	Teanau Tuiono		2,049	5.42	-0.25	2,876	7.41	+1.29
	ACT	Jack Phillips		1,192	3.15	—	2,626	6.76	+6.37
	NZ First	Darroch Ball		875	2.31	-3.93	1,157	2.98	-4.84
	New Conservative	David Poppelwell		733	1.94	—	704	1.81	+1.48
	Advance NZ	Sharon Lyon		430	1.14	—	332	0.86	—
	Opportunities						756	1.95	-0.72
	Māori Party						177	0.46	+0.06
	Legalise Cannabis						157	0.40	+0.13
	ONE						112	0.29	—
	Vision NZ						30	0.08	—
	Sustainable NZ						24	0.06	—
	Outdoors						21	0.05	±0.00
	Social Credit						13	0.03	±0.00
	TEA						10	0.03	—
	Heartland						6	0.02	—
Informal votes				768			274
Total valid votes				37,803			38,829
Turnout				39,103	84.0	+3.39
	Labour hold		Majority	12,508	33.09	+14.58

2017 election

More information 2017 general election, Notes: ...

2017 general election: Palmerston North^[34]
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 Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	Labour	Y Iain Lees-Galloway		18,388	53.09	+3.39	14,648	41.37	+10.49
	National	Adrienne Pierce		11,946	34.58	−8.61	14,276	40.32	−2.77
	NZ First	Darroch Ball		2,155	6.24	+2.66	2,767	7.82	−0.82
	Green	Thomas Nash		1,960	5.67	—	2,166	6.12	−3.73
	Money Free	Scott Andrew		142	0.41	—
	Opportunities						944	2.67	—
	Māori Party						141	0.40	−0.08
	ACT						138	0.39	−0.12
	Conservative						116	0.33	−4.17
	Legalise Cannabis						96	0.27	−0.09
	United Future						30	0.08	−0.15
	Ban 1080						18	0.05	−0.04
	People's Party						17	0.05	—
	Outdoors						16	0.05	—
	Mana Party						15	0.04	−0.92^[a]
	Democrats						11	0.03	±0.00
	Internet						7	0.02	−0.94^[b]
Informal votes				471			139
Total valid votes				34,551			35,406
Turnout				35,545
	Labour hold		Majority	6,392	18.51	+12.00

2014 election

More information 2014 general election, Notes: ...

2014 general election: Palmerston North^[28]
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 Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	Labour	Y Iain Lees-Galloway		16,885	49.70	−1.62	10,632	30.88	−3.00
	National	Jono Naylor		14,673	43.19	+2.07	14,835	43.09	−1.03
	NZ First	Darroch Ball		1,217	3.58	+3.58	2,973	8.64	+2.98
	Conservative	Mark Pearce		689	2.03	−0.07	1,549	4.50	+1.48
	Internet	Pani Farvid		250	0.74	+0.74
	Green						3,390	9.85	−0.65
	Internet Mana						330	0.96	+0.68^[c]
	ACT						175	0.51	−0.23
	Māori Party						166	0.48	−0.03
	Legalise Cannabis						123	0.36	−0.12
	United Future						80	0.23	−0.41
	Ban 1080						30	0.09	+0.09
	Civilian						24	0.07	+0.07
	Democrats						10	0.03	−0.02
	Independent Coalition						10	0.03	+0.03
	Focus						7	0.02	+0.02
Informal votes				257			93
Total valid votes				33,871			34,427
Turnout				34,427	79.37	+3.46
	Labour hold		Majority	2,212	6.51	−3.69

2011 election

More information 2011 general election, Notes: ...

2011 general election: Palmerston North^[26]
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 Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	Labour	Y Iain Lees-Galloway		16,525	51.32	+4.50	11,194	33.88	-6.80
	National	Leonie Hapeta		13,240	41.12	-2.43	14,577	44.12	+3.46
	Green	Corrina Tucker		1,485	4.61	+0.19	3,469	10.50	+3.99
	Conservative	Andrew Marquet		675	2.10	+2.10	997	3.02	+3.02
	ACT	Daniel Stratton		167	0.52	-0.71	245	0.74	-1.99
	United Future	Sultan Eusoff		109	0.34	-0.42	210	0.64	-0.60
	NZ First						1,870	5.66	+1.61
	Māori Party						168	0.51	-0.20
	Legalise Cannabis						157	0.48	+0.07
	Mana						94	0.28	+0.28
	Alliance						23	0.07	+0.02
	Libertarianz						19	0.06	+0.01
	Democrats						15	0.05	+0.03
Informal votes				667			230
Total valid votes				32,201			33,038
	Labour hold		Majority	3,285	10.20	+6.93

Electorate (as at 26 November 2011): 43,524^[35]

2008 election

More information 2008 general election, Notes: ...

2008 general election: Palmerston North^[36]
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 Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	Labour	Iain Lees-Galloway		15,977	46.82		14,108	40.68
	National	Malcolm Plimmer		14,860	43.55		14,103	40.66
	Green	Lawrence O'Halloran		1,509	4.42		2,258	6.51
	NZ First	Graham Odering		658	1.93		1,404	4.05
	ACT	Kevin Dittmer		420	1.23		948	2.73
	Progressive	Debbie Lucas		261	0.76		408	1.18
	United Future	Frank Owen		259	0.76		430	1.24
	Independent	Grant Seton		107	0.31
	Independent	Arshad Chatha		74	0.22
	Bill and Ben						338	0.97
	Māori Party						247	0.71
	Legalise Cannabis						139	0.40
	Kiwi						117	0.34
	Family Party						89	0.26
	Pacific						37	0.11
	Alliance						16	0.05
	Libertarianz						16	0.05
	Workers Party						12	0.03
	Democrats						6	0.02
	RONZ						4	0.01
	RAM						2	0.01
Informal votes				341			159
Total valid votes				34,125			34,682
	Labour hold		Majority	1,117	3.27

2005 election

More information 2005 general election, Notes: ...

2005 general election: Palmerston North^[37]
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 Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	Labour	Y Steve Maharey		17,263	53.87		14,642	44.98
	National	Malcolm Plimmer		11,763	36.71		11,943	36.69
	Green	Lawrence O'Hallorahan		1,141	3.56		2,116	6.50
	NZ First	Graham Odering		853	2.66		1,673	5.14
	United Future	Gary Pedersen		627	1.96		1,071	3.29
	Progressive	Dawn Patchett		251	0.78		370	1.14
	Independent	Archard Chatha		147	0.46
	ACT						285	0.88
	Māori Party						161	0.49
	Destiny						116	0.36
	Legalise Cannabis						59	0.18
	Christian Heritage						49	0.15
	Libertarianz						18	0.06
	Alliance						14	0.04
	99 MP						10	0.03
	One NZ						7	0.02
	Democrats						6	0.02
	Direct Democracy						6	0.02
	RONZ						4	0.01
	Family Rights						2	0.01
Informal votes				276			105
Total valid votes				35,460			35,983
	Labour hold		Majority	5,500	17.16