A member of the social democratic New Democratic Party (NDP) he was for a time the only elected official who supported the 'Waffle', a group of intellectuals and students who tried to push the NDP further to the left. He left the NDP over its refusal to nationalize the potash industry, and sat as an independent socialist until the next election, when he was defeated and turned to academia.
In recent decades Richards' views have moderated, and he became an early exponent of the 'Third Way' politics popularized by UK Labour Party leader Tony Blair. Writing and editing a series of books and articles that suggested the development of a more pragmatic social democratic politics he remains one of Canada's foremost political intellectuals, and was instrumental in the creation of the new school of public administration at SFU.