 In Parliament, he agitated for the Eight Hours Bill, and in 1894 he was elected as the Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).He lost his seat at the 1895 general election, but was re-elected for Walthamstow at a by-election in 1897.However, he lost the seat in 1900 following confusion over his stance on the Second Boer War.