 As a unionist who had spent a year in Lyttelton goal for sedition, he had no chance of being elected in this well off electorate, and the incumbent, Leonard Isitt, was successful.He later stood for and won the nearby seat of Christchurch East at the 1922 general election, representing it until his death.He tirelessly advocated for his working-class constituents in parliament to increase wages, improve housing quality, and for the need of active government policies to reduce unemployment which rose rapidly in the 1920s.