Wigram is a marginal Labour seat in the western suburbs of Christchurch.
The electorate was held since 1996 by Jim Anderton, a former Labour MP who had left the party in the late 1980s and went on to found the Alliance. The Alliance crumbled before the 2002 election, and from 2005 to 2011 Anderton effectively represented Wigram as an independent, with his party not polling a significant number of votes outside of Wigram. Anderton served as a minister in the Labour-led government from 1999 to 2008.
When Anderton retired in 2011, Wigram returned to the Labour fold but not by a significant margin, being won by Megan Woods. Her margin is now 4.45% after the redistribution.
