He stood for Devon in the 1681 election but was defeated. Appointed a justice of the peace and an alderman for Tiverton in 1683, he was returned to Parliament for that constituency as a Tory in 1685, and elected mayor of the town the following year. He was also appointed a JP for South Molton in 1684. After the collapse of the Monmouth Rebellion, he was appointed a commissioner for rebels' estates. Once again, he was largely inactive in Parliament, serving on the committee to prevent the export of wool. In 1687, the Tiverton corporation was remodelled by quo warranto proceedings and he was removed from his offices there. In July 1688 he joined with many of the Devonshire gentry in repeating the temporizing answer given by Sir Edward Seymour to the "Three Questions" of James II, and was consequently dismissed from his county offices.