He was elected to Parliament in 1935 and developed a reputation for interest in colonial matters, gaining the nickname "unofficial member of the Kikuyu at Westminster".

Having passed the exam, he joined the War Office and later worked for the Crown Agents, who acted as the London representatives of British dominions and colonies.

After the outbreak of the First World War, Jones was involved across London with the ILP; he had become a pacifist, and organised anti-conscription meetings when conscription was introduced in 1916.

He used his imprisonment as an opportunity to read further on history, politics and economics; he also made useful contacts in prison with figures who would later become senior in the Labour Party.

He was heavily involved in the Workers' Educational Association, and also served as a Governor of Ruskin College, Oxford which was funded by the trade unions.

He left his position at the TGWU after he was elected organising secretary of the Workers' Travel Association (WTA), which funded foreign trips for people employed in industry.

Having visited most European countries, including Nazi Germany, he directed a rescue of hundreds of Jews from Czechoslovakia through the WTA after the Munich Agreement was signed.

After the formation of the National Government, Creech Jones at first went along with his TGWU colleague Ernest Bevin in joining the Socialist League.

Initially unwilling to try for a seat in Parliament, it was reported to be his observation of events in Germany which persuaded him to change his mind and at the 1935 general election he won the constituency of Shipley as a Labour Party candidate; his election was helped by the Conservative vote being split between the official candidate and the sitting Member of Parliament (MP), who had been deselected.

[7] After the Labour Party won the 1945 election, Creech Jones was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Colonial Office, with The Times wondering why he was not given a more senior post.

[10] In October 1946, the Secretary of State for the Colonies George Hall was moved in a government reshuffle and Creech Jones was promoted to head the department, with a seat in the Cabinet and membership of the Privy Council.

Creech Jones took over at a time when the tensions in Palestine were increasing, and he frequently appealed to moderate Jewish leaders to restrain the more violent.

He was later forced to recall Oliver Baldwin as Governor of the Leeward Islands, who had made outspoken comments which local opinion had taken badly.

At the 1950 general election, Creech Jones' constituency of Shipley was subjected to boundary changes, and he was vigorously challenged by the Conservatives.

When Sir Stafford Cripps resigned his seat at Bristol South East in the autumn of 1950, Creech Jones was the favourite to succeed him, given his status and his family connections to the city.

He was appointed to the governing body of Queen Elizabeth House, a Colonial Office-sponsored institution at Oxford University, in March 1955.

[18] In 1961, he signed a letter expressing disquiet at a British application to join the European Communities, and urging a Commonwealth conference to discuss the implications before formally applying.