Prior to becoming a member of New Zealand's Parliament, he had been employed by the Wellington City Council as well as by the Accident Compensation Corporation.

[3] He rose to prominence when he became convener of the Wellington Clean Water Campaign which opposed the council on the Moa Point sewerage treatment plan.

In 1983 Blincoe unsuccessfully sought the Labour Party nomination for the seat of Tasman following the retirement of Bill Rowling, but lost to Ken Shirley.

In the 1999 election, Blincoe missed out on returning to Parliament as a list candidate under mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation by a narrow margin once special votes had been counted.

Initially it appeared that Blincoe would have a seat in Parliament, as well as a party member directly following him on the Labour list.