From 1895 to 1900 he was out of Parliament, rejected by the working-class electorate of South West Ham.

But nothing turned Mr.Hardie from his policy of independence, or shook his faith in the belief that only by forming a political party of their own could the working people establish a social democracy.

Merthyr Tydvil re-elected him to the House of Commons in 1900 at the very time when he was braving a strong public opinion by denouncing the South African War; and for Merthyr Mr.Hardie will sit as long as he is in Parliament.
It may safely be said that Mr.Hardie will never take office in a Liberal Ministry.

The sturdy republicanism that keeps him from court functions and from the dinner parties of the rich and the great, and the strong conviction that Labour members do well to retain simple habits of life, are not qualities that impel men to join Governments.
Visionary as he is--and no less a visionary because he has seen some fulfilment of his hopes--so indifferent to public opinion that many have exclaimed at his indiscretions, with a religious temperament that makes him treat his political work as a solemn calling of God and gives prophetic fire to his public utterances, Mr.Keir Hardie may remain a private member of Parliament; but he also remains an outstanding figure in democratic politics, conspicuous in an age that has seen the working class rising cautiously to power.

Mr.Hardie's influence with the politically minded of the working class has contributed in no small degree to the changes that are now at work.