 He joined the Social Democratic Party in the 1980s, and unsuccessfully stood for election in Worcester at the 1983 general election, and Stafford in 1987.From 1957 to 1964 Phipps worked with Shell in Venezuela, the Netherlands and the United States.In 1964, well before North Sea oil was known about, he left Shell and became an independent geology consultant and in 1973 he founded Clyde Petroleum, which had many involvements in North Sea oil.