Styled Lord Haughton from 1624, he was member of parliament for East Retford in three parliaments (1623–1626)[4] before succeeding to the peerage in 1637.[1]
Although he had quarrelled with Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who had married his sister, Arabella, in 1641 he opposed the Earl of Strafford's impeachment in the House of Lords, and during the trial asked several questions favourable to his defence. After Parliament sentenced Strafford to death by attainder, he pleaded hard with King Charles I for Strafford's life, but without success.
He took some part in the Civil War, but "he was very often of both parties, and never advantaged either".[1] His attitude has been described as one of "dubious neutrality". He was made Recorder of Nottingham in 1642. After the Restoration, he gained a pardon from King Charles II.[6]