In 1919, Overton was elected as vice-president of the Derbyshire Miners' Association (DMA). The union nominated him as a Labour Party candidate for both the Clay Cross and North East Derbyshire constituencies at the 1922 general election, but he refused to stand in either seat.J. E. Williams, The Derbyshire Miners, p.814 He succeeded William Sewell as president in 1925, serving until his retirement at the end of 1938.
