 He was a junior Lord of the Treasury from 1909 until 1915, when he was promoted to Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip) upon the unexpected death of Percy Illingworth.However, the Coalition Government that formed in May resulted in his sharing the post with the Conservative Lord Edmund Talbot until Asquith's Liberals left the government in 1916.He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1917.