In the early 1870s, he was a supporter of republicanism, and of Charles Bradlaugh and the National Secular Society.
[1] In 1881, Holmes began working for the union, but he was unhappy with its focus on hand knitting, and in 1885, he led a split of machine knitters, to form the Leicester and Leicestershire Amalgamated Hosiery Union.
[1] Always one of its leading figures, he led a major strike in 1886, which ended with some concessions being made, and thereafter became its general secretary.
He was also a leading figure in the Leicester Socialist League in the 1880s, working closely with Tom Barclay, and he was later a founder member of the Independent Labour Party.
[1][2] In 1911, Holmes became seriously ill with cancer, and it was discovered that he had embezzled a large amount of union money, enabling him to own 200 houses around Leicester.