President of the Oxford Union, 1929. Elected Conservative MP for Oxford City, 1938; First Lord of the Admiralty (1956-1957); Minister of Education (1957); Leader of the House of Lords (1960-1963); Lord Privy Seal (1959-1960); Lord President of the Council (1957-1959 and 1960-1964); Minister for Science and Technology (1959-1964); Minister with special responsibility for: Sport (1962-1964); dealing with unemployment in the North-East (1963-1964); higher education (1963-1964); Secretary of State for Education and Science (April-October 1964); Lord Chancellor (1970-1974 and 1979-1987).