He was MP for Pontefract and Castleford from a 1978 by-election until his retirement at the 1997 general election, when he was given a life peerage as Baron Lofthouse of Pontefract, of Pontefract in the County of West Yorkshire.
He was MP for Pontefract and Castleford from a 1978 by-election until his retirement at the 1997 general election. In the Queen's Birthday Honours 1997 Lofthouse was made a Life Peer as Baron Lofthouse of Pontefract, of Pontefract, in the county of West Yorkshire.