He was a member of the Conservative Party, but shyness prevented him from taking the seat in the House of Lords that his hereditary peerage entitled him to. He left the Conservatives in 1992, in protest at Michael Heseltine's announcement that many coal mines would be closed.
He was a member of the Conservative Party and had a hereditary peerage but chose not to use it due to shyness. He left the party because of Michael Heseltine's decision to shut down many coal mines.