He joined the Royal Institute of International Affairs in 1929, having previously been awarded their gold medal for his 1920 thesis on submarine warfare.

He entered the House of Commons in 1939 as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ormskirk unopposed, standing as the National Labour candidate.

He later changed his affiliation and continued to stand as an Independent, subsequently losing the seat to future Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the 1945 general election.

During his term, he served in the Ministry of Aircraft Production under Max Aitken as Director of the Factory Defence Section.

He was invested as a Knight Bachelor on 6 July 1954[4] and was created a Life Peer as Baron King-Hall of Headley on 15 January 1966.