 North was elected to the seat of Claremont at the 1924 state election, defeating a Labor candidate, George Dennis, and the sitting member, John Thomson, who had lost the endorsement of the Nationalists in favour of North.He was appointed government whip in 1930, and remained whip of the Nationalists (and, from 1945, the Liberals) until assuming the role of speaker in 1947.North held Claremont with large margins at every election during this time, with the exceptions of 1933 and 1936, when another Nationalist candidate, Donald Cleland, reduced the margin to less than 400 votes.