Career
Stonelake elected unopposed to the Aberdare Urban District Council in 1904. He retained his seat in 1907. He became chairman of the Council 1910.
During the pre-war period he was a prominent advocate of building council houses, a programme that commenced before the First World War and continued thereafter.
In 1922, however, he was forced to resign from the authority following a corruption scandal. Stonelake was ultimately exonerated of any wrongdoing in the above episode and remained active in public life and the Labour party for many years, although he never resumed his career as an elected representative.