Stephanie Lewis (born ) is a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for from 2020 to 2023.

Personal life

Lewis grew up in

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

and Waverley. She attended

Whanganui City College Whanganui City College is located in Ingestre Street, Whanganui. It became Wanganui City College in 1994. It was formerly the Wanganui Technical College established in 1911 and it became Wanganui Boys' College in 1964. Enrolment As of , Whangan ...

and

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

, where she studied law. In 2004 she was a member of the

New Zealand Youth Parliament The New Zealand Youth Parliament, held once in each term of parliament (usually every three or four years), is an event used to promote the civic and community engagement of New Zealand youth. The event has been held since 1994, and takes place a ...

, selected to represent

MP Jill Pettis. Lewis worked at the

Accident Compensation Corporation The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) () is the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for administering the country's No-fault insurance, no-fault accidental injury compensation scheme, commonly referred to as the ACC scheme. The scheme pro ...

(ACC) where she also became a trade union delegate. She later worked for the Privacy Commissioner. Lewis is married to Rob Carr, who was a senior ministerial adviser to Prime Minister

Jacinda Ardern Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was ...

. In February 2022, while she was pregnant, Lewis was harassed by anti-COVID vaccine mandate protestors outside Parliament, who threatened to lynch and kidnap her.

Political career

Lewis won the Labour Party nomination for Whanganui in 2017 ahead of district councillor Philippa Baker-Hogan and moved from Wellington back to Whanganui to campaign full time. Lewis was re-selected as Labour's candidate for Whanganui in the 2020 election. She was elected a week before Labour's annual conference, which was held in Whanganui for the first time in the party's history. Early returns in the 2020 general election placed her ahead of incumbent

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

Harete Hipango Harete Makere Hipango (born 1964 or 1965) is a New Zealand politician. She was a member of parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party and sat on the Māori Affairs Committee. Hipango served as MP for Whanganui from 2017 ...

, and she was declared the winner on 18 October 2020 with a majority of approximately 6,800 votes based on preliminary results. Following the release of the final results on 6 November, Lewis' majority increased to 8,191 votes. During the

2023 New Zealand general election The 2023 New Zealand general election was held on 14 October 2023 to determine the composition of the 54th New Zealand Parliament, 54th Parliament of New Zealand. Voters elected 122 members to the unicameral New Zealand House of Representatives ...

, Lewis was

unseated Unseating is a political term which refers to a legislator who loses their seat in an election. A legislator who is unseated loses the right to sit in a legislative chamber. A landslide victory results in many legislators being unseated. Austral ...

by National candidate Carl Bates, who won by a margin of 5,512 votes.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Steph 1980s births Living people New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People educated at Whanganui City College Victoria University of Wellington alumni Unsuccessful candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election New Zealand Youth MPs 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates