The eldest surviving son of Thomas Emmott of Brookfield, Oldham, he was educated at Grove House, Tottenham and at the University of London. In 1881, he entered the Oldham city council and in 1891 became mayor.
He was a churchman, but his education at the Friends' School and his ancestry led him to sympathize with nonconformists.
He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1908. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Emmott, of Oldham, in 1911. The peerage became extinct on his death. He was awarded the GCMG in 1914 and the GBE in 1917.
He died very suddenly from angina pectoris at his home in London, the day on which he was engaged to speak at a Liberal Party rally.