the 34th parliament (1963–66). In both 1931 and 1933 he stood unsuccessfully for Mayor of Auckland City on a Labour Party ticket, defeated by George Hutchison on both occasions. Throughout his parliamentary career, Mason remained highly involved in the organisation of the Labour Party. He served as its president from 1931 to 1933, and played a major role in policy formulation. Mason was regarded as a social democrat rather than a socialist, and he played a part in moving the Labour Party closer to the political centre. He did, however, believe that the state should have exclusive control over the country's financial system, influenced by social credit monetary reform theories. Other causes supported by Mason include the establishment of a comprehensive old-age pension system and the granting of full state services to naturalised immigrants (the latter making him extremely popular with his electorate's substantial Yugoslavian community). In 1935, Mason was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal. First Labour government When Labour won the 1935 general election, Mason became Attorney General and Minister of Justice, reflecting his legal background. When disputes arose between the party leadership and John A. Lee's more radical faction, Mason remained on good terms with both sides — while he sympathised with some of Lee's points, particularly regarding monetary reform, he did not join Lee's breakaway Democratic Labour Party (DLP). Mason later served as Minister of Education (where he worked closely with C. E. Beeby to implement educational reforms) and as Minister of Native Affairs. In 1941 the Public Service Commissioner Thomas Mark died in (or just outside) the minister's office, during a confrontation with Mason who wanted the resignation of the head of a department. The chief justice, Michael Myers, was of the view that the Crown's principal law officers should be King's Counsel. On 23 July 1946, Mason (who was Minister of Justice) and Herbert Evans (who was solicitor-general received their appointment. Mason was not returned to Cabinet after the 1946 election, but returned to fill a vacancy the following year. After Labour lost office, he continued to agitate on a number of issues, notably decimal currency. Opposition In 1953 Mason was among several Labour MPs who attempted an abortive coup to remove the 71-year-old Walter Nash as party leader, others included Bill Anderton and Arnold Nordmeyer. Mason informed Nash that several members were complaining about the party's leadership to him, and that