National Party Member of Parliament
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | |
| 1990–1993 | 43rd | Hawkes Bay | National | |
| 1993–1996 | 44th | Hawkes Bay | National | |
| 1996 | Changed allegiance to: | NZ First | ||
Having become involved in the New Zealand Young Nationals (the youth wing of the National Party), Laws worked as a parliamentary researcher for National between 1985 and 1989. Most of this time he spent as a senior researcher and press secretary, including assisting the dissident National MP Winston Peters from 1987 to 1989. In the 1987 elections, Laws stood as the National candidate for the Hawkes Bay seat, but narrowly failed to defeat the incumbent Bill Sutton of the Labour Party. In the 1990 elections, however, Laws wrestled the seat from Sutton to enter Parliament with a majority of 2,895 votes. In the 1993 elections he retained his seat with an increased majority — despite a significant nation-wide swing away from the National Party.
Read more about this topic: Michael Laws
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