 Having unsuccessfully fought Barkston Ash in 1955 and Battersea South at the 1959 United Kingdom general election, Rhodes was Member of Parliament for Newcastle-upon-Tyne East from 1964.He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Richard Crossman from 1956 to 1967, and then served on the Council of Europe until 1970.From 1968 to 1972, he chaired the Labour Party National Working Group on Higher Education.