Palmerston North is a parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives.

[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.

[3] 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%).

[9] 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.

[13] Jimmy Nash, the sitting Mayor of Palmerston North, won the resulting by-election on 19 December 1918.

[18] Skoglund contested the 1957 election against Bill Brown of the National Party and was confirmed by the voters.

[20] Walding represented the Palmerston North electorate until the 1975 election, when he was defeated by John Lithgow, and from 1978 to 1981.

[20] 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.

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

[21] In the 1987 election, de Cleene raised his share of the vote to 56.2%, defeating National's Paul Curry.

[21] 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.

[22] Lees-Galloway defeated the National Party candidate, Malcolm Plimmer, with a majority of 1,117 votes.

[23][24] In the 2011 election, Lees-Galloway was confirmed with an increased majority of 3,285 votes, defeating National's Leonie Hapeta.

[25] In the 2014 election, Lees-Galloway was challenged by the Mayor of Palmerston North, Jono Naylor, but remained successful.

[28][29] Ian Lees-Galloway retired before the 2020 election and was replaced by Tangi Utikere, the city's deputy mayor, as the electorate's MP.

Key Independent Conservative Liberal Independent Liberal Reform Labour National NZ First Members of Parliament elected from party lists in elections where that person also unsuccessfully contested the Palmerston North electorate.