He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1910 to 1917, including as Government Whip from 1914 to 1917.

In parliament, Ready served on the select committee into the 1913 election and the royal commission into the fruit industry.

[4] Ready supported the "No" vote at the 1916 referendum on overseas conscription, remaining loyal to the ALP following the subsequent party split which saw Prime Minister Billy Hughes expelled.

Despite his political record, it was widely rumoured that he had resigned to allow Hughes to appoint a member of his new Nationalist Party to the Senate, which occurred with the nomination of former ALP premier John Earle.

Ready received a show cause notice from the Tasmanian Labor Federation, but refused to reply; the central executive eventually decided to take no action.

In May 1917 he commented that he was glad to be "out of the sphere of such Parliamentary pirates who sail under the black flag of malignity and party bitterness".