[1] After the war, Benstead found work on the railways, and joined the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR).
[1] He also joined the Labour Party, serving as a councillor and as deputy mayor of Peterborough.
In 1932, he was selected as the party's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Ashton-under-Lyne, although he did not ultimately stand.
In 1946, he was additionally elected as President of the International Transport Workers' Federation.
However, in 1947, he resigned from his union posts to become deputy chairman of the British Transport Commission.