the House of Commons to pass through the House of Lords he had to do deals with the Conservatives and maintain good relations with all in the House. Although a moderate in his political views he was an early advocate of House of Lords reform. He thought there was too much unnecessary ceremony and in 1971 argued that those entitled to vote in the Upper House be restricted to regular attenders. After the Labour victory in the 1964 general election, he became Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Government Chief Whip, House of Lords, a post he held until 1967 when he became Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He also served as Deputy Leader of the House of Lords from 1968 to 1970. Shepherd was appointed to the Privy Council in the 1965 Birthday Honours. As Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, a role that had previously been known as Secretary of State for the Colonies. During his tenure at The Foreign Office, Britain was busy shedding Empire and he was very involved in the new constitutions of colonies becoming independent, including Fiji. Shepherd was also involved in resolving the Caribbean island of Anguilla's demand for independence from St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla. He also had to deal with the Biafra war in Nigeria. He won particular popularity in Gibraltar by supervising the introduction of a new constitution which bound Gibraltar more closely to the UK after the Spanish government of General Franco closed the border. Shepherd's preamble to the Gibraltar constitution stated that 'Her Majesty's Government will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar will pass under the sovereignty of another state against their wishes.' Within the Colony's population he is commonly known as "The Father of the Constitution". He was also responsible for Hong Kong during the riots of 1967 inspired by the cultural revolution; he maintained a relationship with the territory in the following years. From 1970 to 1974, Shepherd was Opposition Deputy Leader, House of Lords. In 1974 he became Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords, a post he held until he resigned in 1976. In 1975, Shepherd and his wife Allison accompanied The Queen and Prince Philip on the first state visit to Japan. In November 1975, Harold Wilson caused controversy within the Labour Party by sending him to represent the UK