Cope contested
Woolwich East in the
1970 general election, but was defeated by
Labour's Christopher Mayhew. Thereafter he served as
Member of Parliament for
South Gloucestershire from 1974 to 1983. When that constituency was abolished for the
1983 general election, he was returned for the new
Northavon constituency, serving until his defeat in the
1997 general election by the
Liberal Democrat Steve Webb. Within the Conservative Party, he was an Assistant Whip from June 1979 to June 1981. His first political office was as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (June 1981 to June 1983), and then he was Treasurer of HM Household (1983–1987), and was then appointed Minister of State for Employment (with a special focus on small businesses) 1987–1989. He was then Minister of State for Security and Finance at the Northern Ireland Office until November 1990. In the meantime, in 1988, he was sworn as a member of the
Privy Council. Cope served as
Deputy Chairman and Treasurer of the Conservative Party from 1 November 1990, Cope served as
Paymaster General (HM Treasury) in
John Major's government between 1992 and 1994. He served as Opposition Chief Whip in the
House of Lords, on the
Conservative front bench, from 2001 to 2007, when he was replaced by Baroness Anelay. His daughter Lucy was formerly married to
Jack Lopresti, who was Member of Parliament for
Filton and Bradley Stoke, one of Northavon's successor seats. In 2012, Cope made the opening speech to the House of Lords, presenting a motion for the Loyal Address on the opening day of Parliament. He retired from the House of Lords on 13 May 2020, his 83rd birthday. ==Charity work==