Born in Glasgow in Scotland, he received a primary education and migrated to Australia in 1883.

[1][2][3] In 1910 he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives for the seat of South Sydney, succeeding former Labor Prime Minister Chris Watson.

He held his seat until his defeat at the 1931 federal election, where a Lang Labor candidate beat him into third in the wake of the 1931 Labor split, allowing a United Australia Party candidate to win the seat.

One of their sons, Edward Charles Riley, was the member for Cook from 1922 to 1934 and served alongside his father in the House.

One of their daughters, Ellen, married Nationalist Senator Walter Leslie Duncan, but predeceased them in 1922.