Member of Parliament
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party |
| 1984–1987 | 41st | Waitaki | Labour | |
| 1987–1990 | 42nd | Waitaki | Labour | |
| 1993–1996 | 44th | Timaru | Labour | |
| 1996–1999 | 45th | Aoraki | 18 | Labour |
| 1999–2002 | 46th | Aoraki | 11 | Labour |
| 2002–2005 | 46th | Aoraki | 8 | Labour |
| 2005–2006 | 46th | List | 11 | Labour |
Sutton first stood for parliament in the election of 1981, becoming the Labour Party's candidate for the Waitaki electorate. He was unsuccessful against National's Jonathan Elworthy. In the 1984 election, however, he stood again, and won the electorate. Most rural electorates in New Zealand traditionally support the National Party, and so Sutton's victory as a Labour candidate was noteworthy.
Sutton retained his electorate in the 1987 general election, but was defeated in the election of 1990. He returned to farming for three years before being returned to Parliament as the MP for Timaru in the 1993 general election. The switch to the MMP electoral system caused significant redistribution of electorates for the 1996 general election, and Sutton became the MP for Aoraki, which included both of his former electorates.
Read more about this topic: Jim Sutton
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