st. john left the upper house when he was re-elected to the house of assembly in 1976, when his party under j.m.g. adams won the election. he served in numerous cabinet positions in the 1970s including deputy prime minister, minister of trade and industry, and minister of tourism where he did his most influential work in developing the tourism industry in barbados. when adams died in 1985, st. john became prime minister. the following year he was defeated in the elections by errol barrow and the democratic labour party.