Along with the Horrabins, Starr briefly joined the Communist Party of Great Britain during the early 1920s, but soon left, unable to stomach the group's discipline. A trip to Leningrad in 1926 to attend an Esperanto conference further alienated him from the Soviets. He stood as a Labour Party candidate for Wimbledon in 1923 and 1924, obtaining about 30% of the vote each time.
