 With the help of favourable boundary changes he won by 1,814 votes.As a backbench MP, Pannell specialised in Commonwealth issues; in May 1956 he initiated an adjournment debate in which he called attention to the effect on the British economy if newly independent colonies spent their sterling balances outside the sterling area.He welcomed political development in colonies such as Gold Coast, but called for constitutional safeguards to protect the economy and make it safe for investment.