He began working in the copper mines at Moonta as a young boy and eventually became president of the local miners' union.

He was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly in 1901 as a member of the United Labor Party, the predecessor of the current ALP.

Verran was chosen as the party's leader in 1909, following the death of Thomas Price, and won a majority at the 1910 state election.

Verran received very little education and before he was 10 years old was working at the copper-mines as a pickey-boy, whose job it was to sort the ore above ground.

Lasting less than 21 months, the government faced riots due to a drivers' strike in Adelaide streets, and criticism of how Verran handled the problem.

Verran called a 1912 election over the power of the upper house to veto the lower, however Labor suffered a swing against them, and were left with 16 of 40 seats.

[1] As a backbencher during World War I, Verran was supported by the All-British League in leading a campaign against people of German descent.

[1] On 30 August 1927, aged 71, Verran was elected by state parliament to fill a casual vacancy caused by the death of ALP senator Charles McHugh.

Despite his background, Verran's rhetoric became increasingly anti-union, describing militant unionists as "responsible for much of our present troubles" and unions in general as "infernal political fighting machines".