 At the 1923 general election he was chosen by the Conservatives to contest the Isle of Wight constituency, and narrowly failed to unseat the sitting Liberal MP, J. E. B. Seely.Seely held the seat with a majority of 90 votes in a three-way contest, with the Labour Party candidate coming a distant third.When a further general election was called in 1924, MacDonald faced Seely in a straight fight.