His biographer stated that Jones "...symbolised the ordinary Labour man: modest, hard working, patient, tolerant, and above all, loyal.

In 1912 he joined the Otago Trades Council (of which he served as president three times) and became a member of the Dunedin branch of the first Labour Party.

[4] In 1933 he was elected a member of the Dunedin City Council, holding a seat until 1937 when he resigned following his appointment as a Cabinet Minister.

On the council he fought for various proposals, but following his elevation to Cabinet he was unable to play as active a role in local affairs as he wished.

The 1935 election resulted in a Labour majority on the council, however many of the councillors who were also MPs and became unable to effectively fulfil their civic duties.

[1][6] His eldest son Ernest Frederick Jones, a returned prisoner of war, stood as the Labour Party candidate for Mayor of Dunedin at the 1947 local elections.

[3] His ministerial rank strengthened his bargaining powers within the government and enabled him to provide his Dunedin constituents with a multitude of new amenities and modernised infrastructure.

[3] His appointment as Minister of Defence was controversial as it had been widely expected that John A. Lee (a distinguished former soldier) would get the job.

[1] As Minister of Defence during the duration of World War II he carried a tremendous workload but proved himself to be an effective administrator.

[12] Following the election of the Second Labour Government he was appointed by Prime Minister Walter Nash as New Zealand's High Commissioner to Australia in 1958.