1982–1991: Early political career Low joined the WP in 1982, and was subsequently appointed as its Organising Secretary. At the
1984 general election, he was the election agent for the party's
secretary-general,
J. B. Jeyaretnam, in his successful campaign to retain
Anson Constituency. Low was well known for giving speeches in
Teochew, which won him much support from a large number of Teochew-speaking residents in Hougang SMC. In 1988, Low represented the WP in a televised debate with the PAP government on proposals to create an
elected presidency for Singapore, during which he engaged
Ong Teng Cheong and
Lee Hsien Loong, who later became the President and Prime Minister of Singapore respectively. In the
general election later that year, Low, together with Gopalan Nair and Lim Lye Soon, contested
Tiong Bahru GRC against the PAP and lost with 47.63% of the vote to the PAP's 52.37%.
1991–2000: Parliamentary debut In 1991, Low, as the Workers' Party's assistant secretary-general, won the Hougang SMC in the
1991 general election and entered Parliament. In Low's interview about
Hougang in 2024, Low said he chose the Hougang division due to familiarities, and he would pave his way for then-chairman Tan Bin Seng to contest in his original choice of
Changi.Low was re-elected as the MP for Hougang SMC with increased votes at the
1997 general election, his second election victory in Hougang.
2001–2011: Leadership of WP On 27 May 2001, Low became the secretary-general of the Workers' Party, replacing
J. B. Jeyaretnam. He was re-elected again as the MP for Hougang at the
2001 general election. At the
2006 general elections, Low won his fourth straight term for the Hougang constituency. He received 13,987 of the votes cast, a 62.74 per cent victory margin which was an increase of 7.74% from the last general election in November 2001. His opponent from the
People's Action Party,
Eric Low, received 8,306 votes. Between 1997 and 2011, Low and
Chiam See Tong from the
Singapore People's Party (SPP) were the only elected opposition Members of Parliament (MP) in Parliament.
2011–2016: Success with GRC During the
2011 general election, Low and Chiam left their respective strongholds in Hougang and Potong Pasir SMC to challenge the ruling PAP in
Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). Low's team along with
Pritam Singh,
Sylvia Lim,
Faisal Manap and
Chen Show Mao challenged the ruling PAP in
Aljunied GRC, while Chiam contested
Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC, leading
Benjamin Pwee, Wilfred Leung, Jimmy Lee and Mohamad Hamim Bin Aliyas. In doing so, the two opposition MPs caused a risk of there being no elected opposition MPs in Parliament if both lost., Singapore. Low led the WP to a victory in Aljunied GRC. On the other hand, Chiam was defeated, while his wife lost
Potong Pasir SMC for the SPP by a margin of 114 votes. The WP win marked the first time that an opposition party won a GRC. As a result of the victory, the party had a total of six elected MPs in Parliament, including the seat in Hougang SMC (which was retained by
Yaw Shin Leong). At the
2015 general election, Low's team along with
Pritam Singh,
Sylvia Lim,
Faisal Manap and
Chen Show Mao won and retained their seats in Aljunied GRC. However, as part of a national swing to the PAP, the team's votes share decreased to 50.96%, a drop of 3.76%, with a narrow margin of 1.9% (2,626 votes). As the margin was within the 2% range, there was a recount. This was Low's sixth continuous win as an elected opposition MP (four in Hougang SMC and two in Aljunied GRC). He was one of few elected opposition MPs to successfully defend a GRC as an incumbent; he also tied with Chiam for being elected the most number of times as an opposition candidate, with six terms. In the 2016 Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections for the WP, Low's position of secretary-general was contended by fellow Aljunied MP
Chen Show Mao. This was the first time Low was challenged for the post since he took it up in 2001. Low retained his seat with 61 votes, to Chen's 45.
2017–present: Stepping down In 2017, Low announced at WP's 60th anniversary dinner that he would not be contesting for the post of secretary-general for the 2018 party elections and would step down to renew leadership in the WP after being at its helm for 17 years. Low formally stepped down as WP chief on 8 April 2018.
Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing subsequently praised Low during the Parliament sitting on 15 May 2018 for the role he played in Parliament, acknowledging him as "a fellow Singaporean and very much part of Team Singapore", and saying that the PAP appreciated his "efforts to work together to build a better Singapore" despite disagreements on perspective and methods. Low has remained politically active despite retiring from
Parliament prior to the
2020 general election. In 2020 while Low was recuperating in hospital, the WP announced that he would not contest in the
2020 general election in a move to "broaden its leadership base and also remain in touch with the ground" as the Singaporean population changed. When the parliament was dissolved prior to
2020 general election, Low was Singapore's longest-serving opposition MP with 29 years in service. In interviews following the decision not to contest, Low stated that he was unlikely to make a political comeback in the future. Low had indicated his desire to remain active in politics and be involved with the party in a mentoring role, advising the succeeding leadership when asked. However, on 7 December 2024, Low announced his complete retirement from politics stating that he will no longer contest in further elections. However, he remains as a member of the WP's CEC. ==Personal life==