Collins was active in the 1990s and was later the Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale in north-west England from 1997 until his defeat at the 2005 general election by Tim Farron, later leader of the Liberal Democrats.
He was a member of the 10 Downing Street Policy Unit and was a speechwriter to Margaret Thatcher, John Major, William Hague, David Hunt, Michael Howard, Chris Patten, Norman Fowler and Brian Mawhinney.
According to The Almanac of British Politics, Collins was selected to fight Westmorland and Lonsdale, then considered a safe seat for the Conservatives, at 1997 general election "partly through his family's farming background, but more by his endorsement from John Major.
In October 2009, Collins was appointed Managing Director of Bell Pottinger[9] Public Affairs, one of the UK's largest lobbying companies, replacing David Sowells and reporting to Chairman Peter Bingle.
In December 2011, The Independent claimed[11][12] that Collins had been filmed by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism saying that PM David Cameron had raised a copyright issue with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao on behalf of Dyson Limited "because we asked him to".