Politically liberal, he came forward in 1830 as a candidate for the representation of the borough of Nottingham, though was ultimately unsuccessful.
From 1845 to 1846, he became proprietor and editor of the Nottingham Mercury, but his opinions were considered too temperate by his readers.
The circulation of the paper declined, and in 1851 the mass of subscribers withdrew in protest at Bailey's views respecting the original error of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, and his prophecies of its inevitable failure.
In 1830, he purchased a mansion at Basford, near Nottingham, where he spent the later years of his life, engaged in literary pursuits and in the formation of a collection of books and engravings.
His son, Philip James Bailey, is the author of Festus and of other poems.