Parker was elected to the
Exclusion Bill Parliament as the
Member for
Evesham in March 1679 and served until it was dissolved in January 1681. He was then re-elected in 1685 to serve in
James II's
Loyal Parliament and was returned for Evesham again in 1689 for the
Convention Parliament. In 1690 the
2nd Parliament of King William III and Queen Mary II was called but Parker's campaign for a third re-election was unsuccessful and he removed himself from the contest a few days before the poll for Evesham was completed. In his absence from parliament after this, Parker served as a
Justice of the Peace for Worcestershire and Warwickshire, where his estates were located, and was also a
deputy lieutenant. Through his wife Parker was related to
Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon and in April 1691 he visited Clarendon who was at the time imprisoned for his support for
Anne over
William and
Mary. Parker then went on to serve as the temporary steward to
George Compton, 4th Earl of Northampton and may have begun a legal practice while out of parliamentary office as well. The
3rd Parliament of King William III was called in 1695 and Parker found himself in a much stronger position in the voting at Evesham. Despite the constituents being able to vote for two candidates, Parker's supporters chose to vote only for him which gave him an advantage over his competitor,
Sir Rushout Cullen, 3rd Baronet, who he subsequently emerged victorious over. Parker was not a very active member in the parliament, voting only occasionally, but he refused to sign the
Association of 1696 in February of that year. He left London for a period of leave on 17 December after his daughter Frances, who had married
Sir John Pakington, 4th Baronet, died. In March 1697 his uncle
Sir Hugh Parker, 1st Baronet died and Parker inherited his
baronetcy as well as a large proportion of his estates. He returned for the third session of the parliament in 1698 and worked on a committee considering a petition of the Worcestershire glass manufacturers, and then made an investigations into tax grievances in the Broadway
hundred. Parker's work on these issues made him popular with his constituents and he was re-elected for Evesham for the
4th Parliament of King William III later in the same year, described at the time as a "Country" supporter. When the
5th Parliament of King William III was called in 1701 Parker chose not to run for re-election again and concentrated on matters closer to home, being elected a deputy lieutenant for Warwickshire. In December the
6th Parliament of King William III was called but again Parker chose not to participate, and he instead supported the successful candidacy of his son Hugh for the Evesham seat. Parker became a deputy lieutenant for Warwickshire again in 1703. Having placed his son in the Evesham seat, Parker could no longer rely on it for his own political role and instead relied on his son-in-law Pakington. In 1704 one of the members for the seat controlled by Pakington,
Aylesbury (UK Parliament constituency), died, and a
by election was called. Pakington supported Parker to be the replacement and was elected on 24 November, in time to vote in support of the
Tack of the
Occasional Conformity Bill four days later. The
1st Parliament of Queen Anne was Parker's last as he chose to not contest the
1705 general election. Despite this he continued to have a say in local politics; he supported the parliamentary candidacies of
William Bromley in 1705 and
Sir Thomas Cookes Winford, 2nd Baronet (another son-in-law) in 1707, and it was estimated that he controlled between 60 and 80 votes. In retirement Parker bought the manor of
Tredington and also spent time at his house in
Devonshire Street. He died on 25 October 1713 and was buried at
Honington Church. ==Citations==