In 1953 he was elected Chairman of the National Association of Labour Student Organisations, a sabbatical post.
When he fought Eastleigh in the 1959 general election, he had to leave the BBC which was committed to political neutrality (his dismissal became a controversy); in 1960 he moved to the Booker Group where he was an Information Officer.
In January 1966, Rowland travelled with two other Labour MPs (Jeremy Bray and David Ennals) to Rhodesia (which had just declared independence from the United Kingdom; albeit unofficially recognised) to see what conditions there were like, and meet some of those involved.
Rowland was insistent that the Wilson government should not back down on confronting Ian Smith's Rhodesia.
Rowland easily retained his seat with a much improved majority at the 1966 general election, benefiting from his prominence after the Rhodesian assault incident.