 Kelley was a miners' union secretary in Doncaster for 10 years, where he joined with National Coal Board managers in opposition to miners who wanted to leave work early when their work was complete, fearing that it could lead to miners hurrying their work and ignoring safety precautions.He also served as a councillor on the West Riding of Yorkshire County Council from 1949 to 1959.At the time of his candidacy for Parliament, the NUM's leadership in Yorkshire tried to prevent left-wingers from becoming sponsored miners' MPs and most MPs in NUM-dominated seats were on the right of the Labour Party.