He began his career in the labour movement, but became a strong opponent of more militant socialism, and rejected the radical views held by many of his colleagues.

[2] During the period he was president Veitch oversaw a large restructure of the union and presented petitions seeking improved pay and working conditions to Parliament.

[1] Believing that workers' goals were better served by political action than strikes, Veitch contested the Wanganui seat in the 1911 election, and defeated the incumbent MP, James Thomas Hogan.

[7] His primary concern with the new Social Democrats were clauses which required the party to support strikes, which Veitch believed were ineffective and unnecessarily disruptive to society.

Veitch and Forbes both contested the leadership of the new party, but in the end, the position was won by Sir Joseph Ward, a former Liberal Prime Minister, who had been brought in by Davy as a compromise candidate.

[15] When Forbes reshuffled the cabinet, Veitch dropped the mining and labour portfolios and was instead made Minister of Railways while also retaining transport.

[1] In 1935, unhappy with the coalition government, Veitch joined the newly created "anti-socialist" Democrat Party launched by Albert Davy.

[18] His son Henry Charles Veitch stood at the next election in 1938 for the National Party (the successor to the United-Reform coalition) but also lost to Cotterill.

[19] Considerably later, in 1943, Veitch stood for the National Party in the Wellington Suburbs electorate, but was unsuccessful, losing to Labour's Harry Combs.