 Sir Ellis Clarke, then the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, appointed Manswell as an Independent Senator in 1976 and he remained in the Senate until his retirement from the Union.He retired from the Public Services Association (the successor to the CSA) in 1981 having reached the position of First Executive President.However, he became a consultant to the Union in 1997 representing them in a matter in the Industrial Court as late as 2006.