Since the 2014 general election, Epsom has been represented by David Seymour, the leader of the ACT Party.

[1] Epsom was created ahead of the first Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) election in 1996, carved out of the Remuera and Eden seats.

Both of these seats were held by National MPs – Christine Fletcher in Eden and Doug (later Sir Douglas) Graham in Remuera.

The 2005 race for Epsom was won by Rodney Hide[2] after a tough contest for the personal vote.

As the leader of ACT, Hide was determined to contest Epsom in order to guarantee his party's representation in the next parliament, should ACT not break the five percent threshold – under New Zealand electoral law, a party can gain representation by either getting five percent of the vote or by winning one or more electoral seats.

As it became more likely ACT would not break five percent, the campaign in Epsom became more intense, with Hide lobbying voters to vote strategically to keep ACT in Parliament, a message that ultimately prevailed, with National MP Richard Worth, defeated by 3,102 votes on election night and returned to Parliament via the National Party list.

Hide's win in Epsom also allowed ACT member Heather Roy to enter parliament.

Hide increased his majority in 2008, and winning Epsom allowed four other ACT MPs to enter parliament.

But Hide stepped down as ACT leader in April 2011 after succumbing to a leadership challenge from Don Brash.

[3] The ACT party selected former Auckland Mayor John Banks as their candidate for the 2011 election, who won the contest.

[4] In 2013, John Banks announced that he would leave Parliament at the 2014 election, and so would not contest the Epsom electorate.

After being found guilty at trial for electoral fraud, he announced his resignation effective 13 June 2014, leaving the Epsom seat vacant.

[5] Due to the proximity of the next general election, Parliament voted by supermajority to avoid a by-election.