Member of Parliament Taylor stood in the
City of Christchurch by-election on 13 February 1896 against
Charles Lewis and
Richard Molesworth Taylor. Lewis won with a majority of 402 votes, with Tommy Taylor coming second. He contested the
City of Christchurch electorate at the
1896 general election in December and this time was returned as a
Member of Parliament. He held this seat until 1899 and from
1902 to 1905. Taylor contested the
Christchurch North electorate in the
1905 general election, but lost against
Charles Gray. He contested this seat again and represented Christchurch North from
1908 to 27 July 1911. Taylor sat as an Independent Liberal-Labour MP and received endorsement from the Labour movement. His death caused a
by-election, which was won by
Leonard Isitt.
Independent MP Taylor was an
Independent MP. In 1905 he became the leader of the
New Liberal Party. He opposed the Premier
Richard Seddon of the
Liberal Party over government corruption, and Seddon's support for the Licensed Trade (i.e., the Liquor Industry) and the
Boer War in
South Africa. Other
Independent MPs associated with Taylor were
George Laurenson,
Leonard Isitt,
Harry Bedford and
Francis Fisher.
Mayor of Christchurch Taylor was an advocate of "Municipal Socialism" and was endorsed by the
Labour Party in his campaign for the
Christchurch mayoralty in 1911, but he never joined a labour organisation. On 27 April 1911, he was elected Mayor of Christchurch, defeating the incumbent,
Charles Allison, and
Henry Thacker. Taylor died shortly thereafter on 27 July 1911. His funeral was the largest ever known in Christchurch. ==Life outside politics==