In his spare time he worked for a shopkeeper in Deptford, East London where he first came into contact with the Post Office Workers Union.

Appointed a Commander of the OBE in 1950,[5] In 1957, Geddes was offered a Knighthood by the Macmillan government, he accepted, and then promptly resigned his position in UPW.

He argued strongly in his maiden speech for extending protection of old age pension schemes.

He praised the plucky Londoners who had defended the country during the Blitz, suggestive of the man in the boiler suit, a kind of community socialist.

Geddes was not especially happy in the Lords which involved much complicated legal procedure and conventional rules.