In 1924 Davies was appointed SWMF's chief organiser and legal adviser, and was elected its vice-president. He also served as the South Wales representative on the executive committee of the MFGB from 1924 to 1934. During the May 1926 general strike, the South Wales miners were among the most fervent in support of the action. When the national strike collapsed after nine days, Davies led the continued resistance from the Welsh coalfields through months of lockout, before capitulation on harsh terms in December. Dowlais was the last district to return to work. The period following 1926 was marked by much in-fighting between communist and non-communist factions in the coalfields. Davies and other non-communists found themselves accused of collaboration with "social fascism"; a leaflet issued by the communist-led National Minority Movement termed him "the sham militant". Nevertheless, he continued to work for cooperation between all factions on the left. After Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, Davies argued for unity around the Labour Party, believing that the ILP's increasingly left-wing stance, and the Communist Party's commitment to violent revolution, might create the conditions for fascism. In 1931 Davies was elected to Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council.