 He sat as a backbench supporter of Premier Richard Hatfield until after the 1982 election, in which the Conservatives won a large majority, when he was named to the cabinet as Minister of Supply and Services.He was defeated in the 1987 election which saw the PC Party lose all of its seats.Following his defeat, he became a member of the new Confederation of Regions Party, known as CoR, which was formed by many anglophone conservatives.