His return to parliament in 1830 cost him dearly. After his earlier disobedience he could not expect to be handed a pocket borough so, instead, he had to buy his own. He was elected member for Fowey, Cornwall, at a cost of at least £5,000 (). The money, however, was not well spent. Only two years later the seat was one of those abolished in the Reform Act of 1832, designed to do away with such malpractices. He sought instead the newly created constituency of Northamptonshire North, local to the family seat of Deene Park but, despite holding the advantage that many of the electors were dependent on family's patronage and goodwill, the campaign did not go smoothly. On 12 September in Wellingborough he was beaten up and "considerabl" injured while campaigning. As a precaution he distributed about £20,000 () among the electorate and the seat was won, albeit as "junior member" to his Whig rival.