He was elected as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Leominster in 1974; he stood down in 2001 after changing parties.

"[2] Speaking after his resignation, the MP told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm not surprised in all the circumstances and not a little bit relieved in view of the unhappy state of politics of the Conservative Party for some years now."

The BBC reported that Conservative leader William Hague's action would be seen as an attempt to deflect attention from disappointing election results in Winchester and Beckenham.

[1] From 1997 to 1998, Temple-Morris sat on the government Labour benches, but did not take the whip, instead sitting as a one-man 'Independent One-Nation Conservative' group.

However, on Saturday 20 June 1998 he joined the Labour Party but stood down as an MP at the 2001 general election.

Outside politics, Temple-Morris was appointed Chairman of the Macleod Group, an association of left-of-centre Conservative MPs, in 1979.