Governor Frederick Bedford then swore in Daglish as premier of Western Australia, colonial treasurer and minister for education.

In parliament, Daglish struggled to achieve anything due to a hostile Legislative Council; his one major success was the passing of a new Public Service Act.

In June 1905, a cabinet reshuffle decreased Daglish's popularity within the Labor Party but he defeated a motion of no confidence at a caucus meeting later that month.

Daglish resigned as premier on 22 August 1905 when his plan to buy the Midland Railway Company for £1.5 million (equivalent to AU$253,000,000 in 2022) failed to pass through parliament.

[9] In 1895 and 1896, Daglish was a member of the National Anti-Sweating League, a group campaigning against the poor conditions endured by low-paid workers.

[10][11] In 1896, Daglish stood in a by-election for the seat of Melbourne South in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, receiving 34 out of 2,192 total votes.

[7][12] Later the same year, Daglish moved to Western Australia (WA) after taking an offer of £200 (equivalent to AU$35,900 in 2022) to resign from the recession-hit Victorian public service; he settled in the working-class suburb Subiaco, 4 km (2.5 mi) west of Perth, the state capital.

[5] Daglish resigned from the public service in 1901 to stand as a Labor Party[a] candidate in the newly created seat of Subiaco in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.

[17] One of Daglish's successes in his first term is the carrying of his motion in favour of an eight-hour working day for the Railway Department.

[10] In February 1904, the Labor Party held a conference at which they decided on the issues of their campaigning and platforms they would take to the next election.

He is a quiet, deliberate speaker, given more to argument than declamation, bearing in this respect a likeness to [Prime Minister Chris Watson]".

Governor Frederick Bedford then swore in Daglish as premier of Western Australia, colonial treasurer and minister for education.

[37] Due to constitutional requirements that at least one minister be from the Legislative Council, Daglish invited John Drew, an unaligned politician, into the ministry, resulting in criticism from within his own party.

[13]: 116  Immediate problems for Daglish were the state's poor financial situation and an inexperienced cabinet made up of unions that were hostile to each other.

[1][40] In the same speech, Daglish proposed a referendum on abolishing the Legislative Council, a bill to introduce pensions for those over 60 years and who had lived in the state for 10 years, the introduction of land tax with exemptions for properties valued below £1,000 (equivalent to $176,000 in 2022) with the land value determined by the owner), the granting of greater job security for public servants, the establishment of a Department of Labor for the administration of workplace relations legislation, the amendment of the Truck Act, and companies and mining legislation to prevent monopolies and ensure all companies conducting business in Western Australia would have at least two local directors.

Concerns with Daglish's speech included his lack of a clear policy for unemployment and that the tax exemption for land worth below £1,000 was a "violation of the Labor platform".

[42] The Legislative Council prevented much of Daglish's agenda; his government's one major change was the passing of a new Public Service Act.

[45] Daglish reshuffled his cabinet on 7 June 1905, making Thomas Bath the minister for education, leaving himself as premier and colonial treasurer.

The cabinet reshuffle caused a split in the Labor Party; Daglish's opponents said he acted towards his colleagues in a high-handed and humiliating manner.

[46][47] On 18 June, The Sunday Times wrote; "it has taken the Labor Party in politics – and in Parliament – nearly a year to find out that its leader is not in every particular, fully qualified to hold responsible office".

[1] On Monday 22 August, the Daglish Ministry resigned; the state's governor gave the Liberal[b]-aligned Hector Rason until the end of the week to form a cabinet.

[5][1] On 4 October, Rason moved for the discharge of the referendum bill; the motion was defeated 18 votes to 16 and the following day, the premier met with the governor to dissolve the Legislative Assembly.

[5][6] At the October 1911 state election, Daglish lost his seat in parliament to Labor candidate Bartholomew James Stubbs.

[62][63] From 1912, Daglish worked as an estate agent and from March that year, he was appointed the employers' representative in the Court of Arbitration, a post in which served until his death.

[69][70] Although the Daglish government was little-remembered decades later, the Labor Party's coming to power marked the start of two-party politics in Western Australia.