[3] Annesley was originally an Irish country whig and sought to protect Protestant interests against both Catholic and Scottish Presbyterian influences.
He was returned unopposed as MP for Westbury on Lord Abingdon's interest at the 1708 general election.
[2] At the 1715 general election, he was initially seated as MP for Westbury after a double return, but was unseated on petition two months later.
In October 1716 he was appointed one of the trustees of Lord Bolingbroke's forfeited personal estate.
He subsequently married Sarah Lady Fowler, the widow of Sir Richard Fowler, 2nd Baronet, of Harnage Grange, Shropshire and daughter of William Sloane of Portsmouth, Hampshire.