He was Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975, resigning abruptly in dramatic circumstances, when he was in the Chair presiding over question time, when he came into conflict with Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

He was the youngest of five sons born to Martha (née Ellem) and George Eugene Cope.

He later worked as a machinist at the Randwick Tramway Workshops, but was retrenched during the Great Depression and relied on the dole for three years.

During World War II, Cope worked for Amalgamated Wireless Valve making glass tubes for use in radar.

[1] Following the death of the incumbent Labor MP Tom Sheehan, Cope was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1955 Cook by-election.