 He became a member of the firm of Olive and Partington, with paper mills in Glossop, Derbyshire and a director of the Kellner-Partington Paper Pulp Company.He was elected at the 1900 general election as Member of Parliament for High Peak constituency in Derbyshire, and held the seat through two further elections before his defeat at the December 1910 general election.In March 1913 he was appointed an alderman on London County Council as a member of the Liberal-backed Progressive Party.