[1] Lawley was also active in the Independent Labour Party, serving on the executive of his local branch and speaking on its behalf.
At the 1922 United Kingdom general election, the NLB sponsored him as a Labour Party candidate in Sunderland.
He stood instead in Shrewsbury at the 1924 United Kingdom general election, managing only 6.8% of the votes cast.
He was very active in organising local districts and representing them at the provincial level, and in 1936 the post of Ontario Field Service Department supervisor was created for him.
He became the organisation's national field service consultant in 1946, and in 1947 and 1948 worked on secondment to the Trinidad and Tobago Blind Welfare Association.