McPhee was a strong supporter of the
temperance movement, and was supported by temperance interests when he unsuccessfully stood for election to the
Tasmanian House of Assembly at the
1916 election and a subsequent 1918
by-election. He was successful at the
1919 election, and won a seat in the
Division of Denison for the
Nationalist Party of Australia. McPhee was appointed to cabinet as Chief Secretary and Minister for Railways from 22 August 1922, but resigned both posts a year later for business reasons. In October 1923, the Premier
Walter Lee was forced to resign by dissidents from the Nationalist and Country parties, and
Joseph Lyons was asked to form a Labor government by the
Governor of Tasmania. McPhee supported the Lyons government in a subsequent
no-confidence vote and, as
Opposition Leader from 29 July 1925, was noted for his co-operative and cordial relationship with Lyons. Reversing the Nationalist Party's heavy defeat at the
1925 election, McPhee led the Nationalists to victory in the
1928 election, by a narrow single seat over Labor. He was sworn in as Premier on 15 June, also taking the portfolios of Treasurer, Minister for Forestry and the
Hydro-Electric Department. The Nationalists won a landslide victory in the
1931 election, winning 19 out of the 30 seats with a nine-seat margin over Labor. Prior to the
1934 election, McPhee had been suffering recurring heart problems, and decided to stand down as Premier, handing over to
Sir Walter Lee on 15 March and retiring from politics. He was knighted
KCMG in June. McPhee attempted a political comeback in 1937, unsuccessfully running for the seat of
Denison at the
1937 federal election. He was more successful in the
1941 state election, winning a seat in
Franklin, although Labor under
Robert Cosgrove won that election. He retired on 23 November 1946 to concentrate on his business and humanitarian interests, and died in his sleep from
cardiovascular disease, on 14 September 1952, aged 74, in
Hobart. ==References==