He served under William Ewart Gladstone as Comptroller of the Household in between February and July 1886 and was sworn of the Privy Council the same year. When the Liberals returned to power under Gladstone in 1892, he was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (chief whip). He succeeded his father in the barony in March 1894, only a few days before Gladstone resigned and Lord Rosebery became Prime Minister. Rosebery appointed Tweedmouth Lord Privy Seal, with a seat in the cabinet, and in May 1894 he also became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He retained these posts until the government fell in 1895.