[1][2] After graduating, he worked briefly on the 9th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica,[2] before joining the family business in 1878, after his father lost his sight.

[2] McKinnon Wood stood unsuccessfully as a parliamentary candidate for East Islington in 1895,[1] Glasgow St. Rollox in 1900[1] and Orkney and Shetland in 1902.

[8] In April 1908 McKinnon Wood was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education in the administration of H. H. Asquith, a post he held until October of the same year, when he became Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

However, when Lloyd George became prime minister in December 1916, McKinnon Wood was not offered a post in the government.

In common with most of the Liberals who did not receive the "Coalition Coupon" he lost his seat, which was gained by Gideon Oliphant-Murray of the Conservative Party.

[1][2][3] Following a funeral service at Whitefield's Tabernacle, Tottenham Court Road, McKinnon Wood was buried in a family vault on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery[3] (plot no.31039), opposite the grave of George Eliot.