The electorate has been held by Erica Stanford of the National Party since the 2017 general election.

[2] Together with increased urbanisation in Christchurch and Nelson, the changes proved very disruptive to existing electorates.

The electorate crosses State Highway One at its southern end, which includes a section of Glenfield.

East Coast Bays is a wealthy electorate, with incomes above the national average and boasting some of the most expensive real estate in the country.

Located on the North Shore of the Auckland isthmus, it is one of the safest National seats in the country.

High population growth in North Auckland lead to the electorate's western fringe being removed in 2002, and with it the eponymous suburb of Albany, thus recreating East Coast Bays ahead of the 2002 election.

In the 1981, 1984 and 1987 general elections, Labour came third, with Knapp defeating Brash in 1981 and Murray McCully in 1984.

But in 1987 the declining fortunes of the Democratic Party (as Social Credit renamed itself), led to Knapp being defeated by Murray McCully, who held the electorate for National until 2017.

In December 2016, McCully announced that he would not stand for parliament in the 2017 general election,[5] and the seat of East Coast Bays was won by Erica Stanford, retaining it for the National Party.

Key National   Social Credit   Democrats   United Future   Green 1 Resigned when appointed Ambassador to the United States Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the East Coast Bays electorate.