Between 1756 and his father's death in 1769, which took him into the House of Lords, he served continuously in the House of Commons as MP for, in turn, Tamworth in Staffordshire, Aldborough in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and Dover in Kent. He followed the political lead of the Duke of Grafton in both the Commons and Lords. He was a Lord of the Admiralty from 1761 to 1763 and was sworn of the Privy Council on 11 July 1765 and served as Vice-Chamberlain from 1765 to 1769.