First elected to the council in 1958, Hamilton became Leader of the Labour Group in 1974 replacing Bill Sefton.
"[4] Although a quietly spoken man, at all times Hamilton acted according to his principles: it was for this that he was most respected by all on the left of the Labour Party.
Hamilton stood firm in the wake of his council's financial struggle with the government, as one newspaper reported at the time: ‘Council leader Mr John Hamilton said there was a massive resolve to carry on the fight, which was not “just about pounds, shillings and pence.
[7] Along with 46 other members of the council who had voted to set an illegal budget, Hamilton was surcharged and banned from office for five years in 1987.
[10] In 2005 Hamilton declined the offer of being made an Honorary Alderman on the nomination of the Labour Group on Liverpool.