Born in Fulham,[1] Stone studied at the London School of Economics[2] and joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP).
During World War II, he worked for the Aeronautical Inspection Department, and he subsequently moved to Glasgow.
[3] Stone stood for the ILP in Glasgow Bridgeton at the 1955 general election, taking only 7.4% of the vote in a seat the party had held until 1947.
[5] Soon afterwards, he began working as a sub-editor with the Glasgow Herald, quickly becoming Father of the Chapel of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).
In 1966, he was appointed as the full-time NUJ official for Scotland and Northern England, serving until 1975.