He joined Hoylake Urban District Council on 19 April 1932, for Grange Ward. For three years he was chairman of the Estates Finance Committee, managing a budget in excess of £250,000 (over £15m at 2016 prices). He became the youngest-ever chairman of the council at the age of 32. As chairman of the council, he was in charge of the local Coronation festivities in 1937, an event which he used to strengthen his links with the Territorial Army. He continued to serve on the council until 1940. In the early 1960s he would often be mocked as "Mr Hoylake UDC", implying him to be a small-town lawyer and local councillor who had been promoted onto the national stage above his abilities.