In his early years his political views had a radical tinge, and, although he subsequently joined the Tories, his conservatism was of a mild type. He withdrew from the Whigs along with Lord Stanley and Sir James Graham, and afterwards adhered to Sir Robert Peel. However, he broke with Peel over the Corn Laws and followed the Derbyites. He died in London on 6 March 1869. His family consisted of two daughters and a son, Sir William Emerson Tennent, who was an official in the Board of Trade, and at whose death the baronetcy became extinct.