Early Parliamentary Career
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | |
| 1918–1919 | 19th | Wellington Central | Labour | |
| 1919–1922 | 20th | Wellington Central | Labour | |
| 1922–1925 | 21st | Wellington Central | Labour | |
| 1925–1928 | 22nd | Wellington Central | Labour | |
| 1928–1931 | 23rd | Wellington Central | Labour | |
| 1931–1935 | 24th | Wellington Central | Labour | |
| 1935–1938 | 25th | Wellington Central | Labour | |
| 1938–1943 | 26th | Wellington Central | Labour | |
| 1943–1946 | 27th | Wellington Central | Labour | |
| 1946–1949 | 28th | Brooklyn | Labour | |
| 1949–1951 | 29th | Brooklyn | Labour | |
During his early years in parliament, Fraser developed a clearer sense of his political beliefs. Although initially enthusiastic about the Russian October Revolution of 1917 and its Bolshevik leaders, he rejected them soon afterwards, and eventually became one of the strongest advocates of excluding communists from the Labour Party. His commitment to parliamentary politics rather than to direct action became firmer, and he had a moderating influence on many Labour Party policies.
Fraser's views clashed considerably with those of Harry Holland, still serving as leader, but the party gradually shifted its policies away from the more extreme left of the spectrum. In 1933, however, Holland died, leaving the leadership vacant. Fraser contested it, but eventually lost to Michael Joseph Savage, Holland's deputy. Fraser became the new deputy leader.
While Savage represented perhaps less moderate views than Fraser, he lacked the extreme ideology of Holland. With Labour now possessing a "softer" image and the existing conservative coalition struggling with the effects of the Great Depression, Savage's party succeeded in winning the 1935 elections and forming a government.
Read more about this topic: Peter Fraser (New Zealand Politician)
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or career:
“I realized how for all of us who came of age in the late sixties and early seventies the war was a defining experience. You went or you didn’t, but the fact of it and the decisions it forced us to make marked us for the rest of our lives, just as the depression and World War II had marked my parents.”
—Linda Grant (b. 1949)
“In time your relatives will come to accept the idea that a career is as important to you as your family. Of course, in time the polar ice cap will melt.”
—Barbara Dale (b. 1940)