 Bridgeman was assistant private secretary to Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury in his posts as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between 1898 and 1900 and as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a few weeks during the summer of 1902.Salisbury resigned on 11 July 1902, and Lord Newport subsequently was private secretary to Salisbury's successor Arthur Balfour from July 1902 until 1905.Having joined the House of Lords on his father's death, Bridgeman became Government Whip in 1919, a post he held until 1924.