July 1707 and, while sailing aboard his flagship HMS Torbay, Norris was present during the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly in October 1707 when Shovell and four of his ships were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000 sailors. Promoted to vice admiral on 26 January 1708, Norris transferred his flag to the third-rate HMS Ranelagh. At the 1708 British general election, Norris was returned as Member of Parliament for Rye. He was a supporter of the Whig Junto, but while on active service, made little contribution in Parliament. While still serving as second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet, he took personal charge a squadron deployed to the Baltic Sea to prevent Swedish grain arriving in France in 1709. Promoted to full admiral on 21 December 1709, he became Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet early in 1710. Norris was returned again as MP for Rye at the 1710 British general election. The new Tory Administration relieved him of the Mediterranean command in October 1711 which allowed him to devote more time to Parliamentary business. He followed the progress of the war and took an interest in naval matters. He voted with the Whigs for the motion ‘No Peace Without Spain’ on 7 December 1711 and against the French commerce bill on 18 June 1713. At the 1713 British general election, he was returned again as Whig MP for Rye, and voted against the expulsion of Richard Steele on 18 March 1714. Norris was returned again for Rye at the 1715 British general election. With the new Whig Administration, he returned to active service. He was sent with a fleet to the Baltic Sea to support a coalition of naval forces from Russia, Denmark and Hanover taking in the Great Northern War. Tsar Peter took personal command of the coalition fleet and appointed Norris as his deputy in 1716: together they protected British and other allied merchant vessels from attack by warships of the Swedish Empire. Norris joined the Board of Admiralty led by the Earl of Berkeley in March 1718. In November 1718, following the death of Charles XII of Sweden, Britain switched sides and Norris returned to the region to protect British merchant shipping from attack by Russian raiders. Norris also acted as a commissioner in the negotiations leading to the Treaty of Nystad which ended the War in September 1721. At the 1722 British general election,