 From 1928 onwards he held various offices in the National Association of Local Government Officers, and after the War contested the constituency of Camborne for the Labour Party, but was defeated.He was a member of various overseas parliamentary delegations and of the Court of Referees for Private Bills; from November 1959 to December 1963 he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, Hugh Gaitskell.He was first elected to the British House of Commons at the 1950 general election as Member of Parliament for Falmouth and Camborne.