Shortly before the 1935 election on Sunday 24 November, an address by Uncle Scrim was expected to urge listeners to vote Labour but was jammed by the Post Office.

As a close friend of Michael Joseph Savage and John A. Lee of the First Labour Government which came to power in 1935, Scrimgeour became Controller of the government-run National Commercial Broadcasting Service.

He performed so well that Fraser (hitherto expected to win his seat comfortably) "only sneaked back on a minority vote".

He moved to Australia, and worked in radio and television there, helping establish the Mercury Theatre in Sydney, New South Wales with Peter Finch.

Scrimgeour was awarded the King George VI Coronation Medal in 1937 and the Chinese Star of Friendship (NZ Roll of Honour, p. 949).