 His father-in-law, Chief Justice Bromley, had died in 1555, giving Newport some access to his great wealth, so he was now one of the richest and most influential men in the county.However, there were plenty of Catholics to choose from, so he must have seemed trustworthy to the Catholic regime to be honoured and empowered with the shrievalty.As sheriff, Newport was a contracting party or returning officer in not only the elections for the county constituency, but also the Shropshire borough seats.