From 1789, in the House of Lords, where he was a representative peer for Scotland, he was prominent as an opponent of the policy of William Pitt the Younger and the English government with regard to France. He was a frequent speaker and also distinguished himself by his active opposition to the "Habeas Corpus" Suspension Act, the Sedition Bill, and other measures. Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution, of which he was thought to be in sympathy, he ostentatiously appeared in the house in the rough costume of Jacobinism.