Before entering politics he worked in shipyards from 1970 to 1978, then as a printer for the Paisley Daily Express from 1978 to 1984, then for Thales Optronics (formerly Barr and Stroud before 2001) in Glasgow, where he was a trade union convenor for the TGWU from 1984 to 2000.

[5] The football governing bodies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all opposed to a Great Britain team, fearing it would stop them competing as individual nations in future tournaments.

"[9] He was one of 16 signatories of an open letter to Ed Miliband in January 2015 calling on the party to commit to oppose further austerity, take rail franchises back into public ownership and strengthen collective bargaining arrangements.

On 18 August 2018, he was suspended from the Labour Party on a charge of antisemitism, after posting the following on Facebook: "For almost all my adult life I have had the utmost respect and empathy for the Jewish community and their historic suffering.

I would also like to reiterate my sincere apologies to the Jewish community whose historic struggle I have supported all my political life.”[12] In June 2019, Sheridan was made deputy leader of Renfrewshire Council's Labour group.