sentences:  In 1881, he was appointed as checkweighman, and he also became active in the North Staffordshire Miners' Federation, serving as its president from 1888 to 1912, and then as its full-time secretary and agent.Finney was a supporter of the Labour Party, and was elected to Burslem Town Council in 1903, and then to Stoke-on-Trent County Borough Council from its establishment.Finney first stood for parliament defending a Labour seat at Hanley in 1912, but came third, losing the seat to the Liberal candidate.