Third son of James Spencer, 3rd earl of Northampton, he first entered Parliament in 1698; in 1715 he became speaker of the House of Commons and in 1716 a member of the privy council. In 1730 he was created earl of Wilmington by a king who befriended him and exaggerated his abilities. He became an aging compromise candidate for the prime ministry in 1742, when the real power lay with the Duke of Newcastle and John Carteret (later Earl Granville). Wilmington was deemed mediocre and dull by the public and peers alike and was the frequent target of satirists and caricaturists. He died unmarried at the age of 70, his titles becoming extinct.