 While usually loyal to the Labour Party whip, Dodds broke it on two occasions during the Parliament.The first was in May 1946 when he joined 31 other Labour MPs in voting to delete a clause in the National Insurance Bill which limited unemployment benefit to 180 days; the second was in May 1947 when he supported an amendment to end National Service on 1 January 1951, along with 29 other Labour MPs.In February 1949, Dartford Conservative Association selected Margaret Roberts, then a 23-year-old research chemist at BX Plastics of Manningtree, as their candidate for the forthcoming general election.