 When the Liberals came to power in 1880 under William Ewart Gladstone, Kensington was admitted to the Privy Council and appointed Comptroller of the Household (government whip in the House of Commons), a post he held until the government fell in 1885.Following the abolition of his Haverfordwest constituency in 1885, Kensington sought election for Hornsey, but was unsuccessful.In 1886, he was created Baron Kensington, of Kensington in the County of Middlesex, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him a seat in the House of Lords.