In 1995 he defected from the Conservative Party to the Labour Party, the first MP to defect from the Tories since Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler. At the time he was MP for Stratford but was given the seat of Newport in reward. Another reward was being made Minister of Arts at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and membership of the Privy Council. He was sacked after the 2001 general election.