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Palmerston North
Single-member constituency for the New Zealand House of Representatives
Location of Palmerston North within Manawatū-Whanganui
Region	Manawatū-Whanganui
Major settlements	Palmerston North
Current constituency
Created	1890
Current MP	Tangi Utikere
Party	Labour
List MP	Teanau Tuiono (Greens)

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.

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.

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. No boundary adjustments were undertaken in the subsequent 2013/14 redistribution.

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%).

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. Wilson previously represented the Foxton electorate until its abolition in 1890. In the 1890 election, Wilson beat Frederick Pirani by 61 votes. In the 1893 election, Wilson stood successfully in the Otaki electorate and Palmerston was won by Pirani, who was confirmed in 1896 and 1899, but defeated in 1902 when he contested the Hutt electorate. 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.

Wood was the successful candidate in the 1902 election, and he was confirmed in 1905. 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. Buick standing for the Reform Party was again successful in the second round of voting and was thus elected. Buick was re-elected in 1911 and 1914, but died in office on 18 November 1918 during the influenza epidemic.

Jimmy Nash, the sitting Mayor of Palmerston North, won the resulting by-election on 19 December 1918. Nash was confirmed at the next five general elections, 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. 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.

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.

Wilson lost the subsequent election in 1949 against Blair Tennent of the National Party. Tennent was confirmed at the subsequent election, but then lost against the Labour candidate, Philip Skoglund, in the 1954 election. 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.

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. 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.

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. De Cleene won the 1984 election, called early by Robert Muldoon, with an increased majority over National's candidate, C G Singleton. 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.

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. Lees-Galloway defeated the National Party candidate, Malcolm Plimmer, with a majority of 1,117 votes. In the 2011 election, Lees-Galloway was confirmed with an increased majority of 3,285 votes, defeating National's Leonie Hapeta. In the 2014 election, Lees-Galloway was challenged by the Mayor of Palmerston North, Jono Naylor, but remained successful. Lees-Galloway had a decreased majority of 2,212 votes over Naylor. Naylor was the lowest-ranked National MP who entered Parliament via their list. 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

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.

Election results

2023 election

2023 general election: Palmerston North
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

2017 election

2017 general election: Palmerston North
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
	Democrats						11	0.03	±0.00
	Internet						7	0.02	−0.94
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

2014 general election: Palmerston North
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
	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

2011 general election: Palmerston North
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

2008 election

2005 election

2005 general election: Palmerston North
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

1999 election

Refer to Candidates in the New Zealand general election 1999 by electorate#Palmerston North for a list of candidates.

1993 election

1990 election

1987 election

1984 election

1981 election

1978 election

1975 election

1972 election

Table footnotes:

1. Candidate Chris Lawrence changed his name on the ballot to "Mickey Mouse".

1969 election

1967 by-election

1966 election

1963 election

1960 election

1957 election

1954 election

1951 election

1949 election

1946 election

1943 election

1938 election

1935 election

1931 election

1928 election

Table footnotes:

1. Charles Loughnan (died 1955), younger brother of Robert and Henry Loughnan, was the founder of Loughnan and Jacobs, solicitors in Palmerston North, now Jacobs Florentine.

1925 election

1919 election

1918 by-election

1899 election

1890 election

Table footnotes

1. 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
2. 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
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.

Notes

1. McRobie 1989, pp. 54ff.
2. Report of the Representation Commission 2007 (PDF). Representation Commission. 14 September 2007. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-477-10414-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
3. Report of the Representation Commission 2014 (PDF). Representation Commission. 4 April 2014. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-477-10414-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
4. "Palmerston North electorate profile". Parliamentary Library. December 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2018. This article incorporates text by the Parliamentary Library available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
5. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 148.
6. Scholefield 1950, p. 157.
7. ^ Oliver, Steven (22 June 2007). "Pirani, Frederick 1858–1926". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
8. Scholefield 1950, p. 132.
9. "Untitled". The Evening Post. Vol. LXIV, no. 131. 29 November 1902. p. 6. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
10. Scholefield 1950, p. 149.
11. "Palmerston". The Wanganui Herald. Vol. XXXXIII, no. 12621. 18 November 1908. p. 5. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
12. "In other Districts". Nelson Evening Mail. Vol. XLII. 25 November 1908. p. 2. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
13. "David Buick : Member of Parliament for Palmerston North 1908–1918" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
14. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 128.
15. ^ Atkinson, Neill. "Hodgens, Joseph". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
16. Hancock, Mervyn (December 2005). "George Hamish Ormond Wilson : Member of Parliament for Rangitikei 1935–1938 Palmerston North 1946–1949" (PDF). Palmerston North Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
17. Paul, Janet. "Wilson, George Hamish Ormond - Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
18. ^ Pilkington, Dorothy. "Tennent, William Blair - Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
19. Hancock, Mervyn (December 2005). "George Hamish Ormond Wilson : Member of Parliament for Palmerston North 1960–67" (PDF). Palmerston North Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
20. ^ Hancock, Mervyn (December 2005). "Joseph Albert Walding : Member of Parliament for Palmerston North 1967–1975 1978–1981" (PDF). Palmerston North Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
21. ^ Hancock, Mervyn (December 2005). "Trevor Albert De Cleene : Member of Parliament for Palmerston North 1981–1990" (PDF). Palmerston North Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
22. Dykes, Mervyn (29 April 2009). "Man about the House". Manawatu Standard. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
23. "Official Count Results -- Palmerston North". Chief Electoral Officer. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
24. "Iain Lees-Galloway". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
25. ^ "Official Count Results -- Palmerston North (2011)". Chief Electoral Officer. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
26. "Lees-Galloway returned as MP". Manawatu Standard. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
27. ^ "Official Count Results -- Palmerston North (2014)". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
28. Townend, Lucy (4 October 2014). "Naylor confirmed as MP". Manawatu Standard. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
29. Rutherford, Hamish (4 October 2014). "National loses majority, Greens pick up one". Stuff. Archived from the original on 4 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
30. "Palmerston North - Official Result". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
31. "Official Count Results -- Palmerston North (2020)". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
32. "Official Count Results -- Palmerston North (2017)". Electoral Commission. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
33. "Enrolment statistics". Electoral Commission. 26 November 2011. Archived from the original on 10 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
34. 2008 election results Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
35. "Official Count Results -- Palmerston North". Elections.org.nz. 1 October 2005. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
36. Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1993. pp. 12, 161.
37. Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). New Zealand Chief Electoral Office. 1990.
38. ^ Norton 1988, pp. 309.
39. "Mr Mickey Mouse Accepted as Candidate". The Evening Post. 1 November 1972. p. 1.
40. ^ Norton 1988, pp. 308.
41. "The New Zealand Official Year-Book, 1951–52". Statistics New Zealand. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
42. "The General Election, 1949". National Library. 1950. pp. 1–5, 8. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
43. "The General Election, 1946". National Library. 1947. pp. 1–11, 14. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
44. "The General Election, 1943". National Library. 1944. p. 11. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
45. "The General Election, 1938". National Library. 1939. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
46. The General Election, 1935. Government Printer. 1936. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
47. The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 4. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
48. The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. 1929. p. 4. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
49. "About Jacobs Florentine". Jacobs Florentine. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
50. The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. 1926. p. 3. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
51. Hislop, J. (1921). The General Election, 1919. National Library. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
52. "By-election Results". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LV, no. 17038. 20 December 1918. p. 4. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
53. Hughes, Beryl. "Helen Priscilla Crabb". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
54. "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
55. "The General Election, 1890". National Library. 1891. Retrieved 25 February 2012.

References

• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
• Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946-1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
• Scholefield, Guy (1950) . New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) . New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

External links

• The First Sixteen Members of Parliament for Palmerston North, lectures presented in association with the Manawatu Workers' Association (WEA) Mervyn Hancock, Palmerston North City Library
• Electorate Profile Parliamentary Library

• New Zealand electorates
• Politics of Manawatū-Whanganui
• Palmerston North
• 1890 establishments in New Zealand