interesting work to do. Joynson-Hicks was among the more controversial Ministers and had especial need to know that he had the support of Conservative backbenchers, and this Erskine was able to arrange. After the 1931 general election, Erskine was named as an unpaid Assistant Government whip on 12 November 1931. This appointment effectively silenced Erskine in the Chamber of the House of Commons due to the tradition that Whips do not make speeches. Previously Erskine had been an effective and confident speaker who had taken a close interest in the affairs of India (although he admitted never to having visited it). He followed the 'Round Table Conferences' of the early 1930s closely. In his later years, Erskine served as a member of Parliament for the two-member Brighton constituency. However Erskine's public support for native rule in India counted against him with Winston Churchill who had led the opposition to the Government of India Act 1935. Although hopeful of appointment to government office, Erskine was given nothing. As Governor of Madras Presidency On 22 May 1934 Erskine was appointed the new Governor of Madras. Although his appointment commenced in November, Erskine resigned his seat through appointment as Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds at the beginning of June. In 1934, Erskine succeeded George Frederick Stanley as the Governor of Madras Presidency and served from 1934 to 1940. Erskine was a supporter of the Justice Party and wanted the party to capture power in the Presidency during the 1937 elections. However, to his disappointment, the Indian National Congress won by a huge margin. Despite being the majority party in the Assembly and the council, the Congress refused to form the government. Their objections stemmed from the special powers given to the Governor by the Government of India Act of 1935. Erskine decided to form an interim provisional Government with non-members and opposition members of the Legislative Assembly. He first offered the Prime Minister post in the interim government to V. S. Srinivasa Sastri but Shastri refused to accept it. Then Erskine formed the interim Government with Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu of the Justice Party as premier on 1 April 1937. He also used the Minister for Public Health R. M. Palat to try and entice Congress legislators into supporting the government. Wary of his tactics, Congress leaders like S. Satyamurti started a campaign to convince Congress High Command (Gandhi and Nehru) to accept