Elliot Ikilei was born on 25 June 1977[1][2] and grew up in the Auckland suburbs of Point England, Glen Innes, and Mount Wellington.

[10][11] In August 2018, Ikilei seconded former National and ACT parties leader Don Brash during a debate on free speech and "political correctness" at the University of Auckland, which attracted the attention of protesters.

[16] In April 2020, the New Conservative Party announced Ikilei as their candidate for the 2020 New Zealand general election for the new electorate of Takanini (at the time proposed to be called "Flat Bush") that had been created following population changes.

[25] On 27 January 2025, Ikilei represented the advocacy group Hobson's Pledge alongside trustee and civil litigator Thomas Newman during the first day of oral submission hearings on the Treaty Principles Bill.

Ikilei claimed the second principle did not treat people equally and advocated the removal of references to iwi (tribe) and hapū (sub-group) from the bill, reverting to its original draft form.

[26] Ikilei is socially conservative, opposing abortion, supporting cannabis prohibition and taking a traditional stance on family, law and order, and welfare.

[2][9] In April 2019, Ikilei was temporarily suspended from Twitter for tweeting "'Trans women' are men with dysphoria/disorder, to be treated with compassion and tolerance"; a remark condemned by many as transphobic.

[28] In August 2019, Ikilei welcomed a deal between the Māori tribe Te Kawerau ā Maki and Fletcher Building over the Ihumātao land dispute.