 Having previously tried for Kirkcudbright, but been rejected, he was subsequently elected as member of Parliament for Plympton Erle from December 1812 to June 1816, during which time he is not known to have spoken, and has just seven recorded votes.In 1812, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.His proposers were Thomas Allan, Allan Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank, and John Playfair.