Edwards joined the Australian Labor Party in 1970 while living in Sydney. He served as president of its Manly branch from 1972 to 1976.[2] After returning to Perth he joined the party's Karrinyup branch.[3]
In parliament,Edwards was a member of the Labor Right faction and was a "firm supporter of the Hawke government's economic and industrial relations reform agenda".[2] He was deputy speaker and chairman of committees from 1989 to 1993 and was the first person to hold the formal title of "deputy speaker",which was created in 1992.[4]
Edwards lost his seat to the Liberal candidate Eoin Cameron at the 1993 election;in WA seats that election Labor had suffered badly in swings toward the Coalition,despite a nationwide swing to the ALP. Leo McLeay,the incumbent ALP speaker,had resigned his post shortly before the election and it was speculated that Edwards would have succeeded as speaker had he not been defeated.[2]
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