He was elected to the House of Commons for Tewkesbury in 1807 in the Whig interest, a seat he held until 1812 and again from 1832 to 1837.

Hanbury-Tracy served as the Chairman of the Commission to judge the designs for the new Houses of Parliament in 1835.

In 1838 Hanbury-Tracy was raised to the peerage as Baron Sudeley, of Toddington in the County of Gloucester.

Five days before their marriage he assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Tracy.

Through this marriage, the ancient estate of Toddington Manor in Gloucestershire came into the Hanbury family.