He married Susannah Sarah Metcalfe on 18 March 1874 at Holborn; the couple visited New Zealand and in 1875 settled at Paddington in Sydney.

West had been a supporter of the Commonwealth Constitution at the Intercolonial Trade Union congresses after 1879, but did not stand for the first federal Parliament.

West continued with his union commitments in parliament, and spent his political career on the back bench.

He criticised the government of Stanley Bruce and Earle Page for slow progress in constructing the temporary parliament house in Canberra, and also became known for his advocacy of the Australian flag appearing on all Commonwealth office buildings, his opposition of Tom Walsh and Jacob Johnson's deportation, and his argument that the association of Labor with "Bolshevism and Communism was moonshine".

West died at midnight on 5 February 1931 at his home in Darlinghurst, survived by his nine children.