 It was whilst he was working for the railways that he became involved in socialism and the trade union movement.He joined the Labour Party in 1935, and the National Union of Railwaymen in 1937, becoming "president of the NUR North West district council political section, as well as vice president of the industrial section" during the early 1970s.Until elected a Member of Parliament, Spriggs lived his adult life in Thornton, Lancashire and was a railways goods guard.