Bayliss was a member of the executive of the Midlands Liberal Federation. He served on the Nottingham Board of guardians. He had a particular interest in industrial matters and ex-servicemen issues (being a founding member of the British Legion, for which he published articles.The Times House of Commons, 1929 In November 1925, he was selected as prospective Liberal Party candidate for the Belper division of Derbyshire.Derby Daily Telegraph, 16 November 1926 However, he did not contest the seat. He was Liberal candidate in the 1926 Smethwick by-election. This made him the first Liberal to contest Smethwick since the constituency was created in 1918. Lloyd George had just taken over as Liberal Leader and was keen to see Liberals contesting as many seats as possible. Bayliss came in third with 9% of the vote. He was Liberal candidate for the Rossendale division of Lancashire at the 1929 General Election. He was not planning to contest the election, but the adopted Liberal candidate fell ill at the last minute and withdrew.The Times House of Commons, 1931 Rossendale had been a Liberal seat until it was lost in 1918 to a coalition government backed Unionist. The Liberals had come within 2,000 votes of winning it back in 1923 before falling to third place in 1924. Bayliss lifted the Liberal share of the vote to 34%, which was only good enough to recapture second place, falling 800 votes short of victory. He did not stand for parliament again.British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1973, FWS Craig He was to move south to London where, after World War II, he had a long municipal career in the Labour Party, representing Islington East on London County Council. From 1952-53, he was chair of the council.‘BAYLISS, Edwin’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 1 March 2016
