becoming well known as a speaker, levitas graduated to stepney communist party (cpgb), for which in 1943 he co-authored "stepney: a borough to be proud of". in 1946, he was one of ten cpgb candidates to win election to stepney borough council. he served several terms of office, latterly on tower hamlets london borough council. when he lost his final election, in 1971, he had been a councillor for a total of fifteen years. he also stood unsuccessfully in stepney at the 1952 and 1955 london county council elections.