William was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds in 1950, and he was knighted in 1963, making Penelope Lady Aitken. She devoted herself to community work in support of her husband's political career, becoming a magistrate and running the Clothing Exchange, which played a major role in helping the victims of the East Coast floods in 1953. Eventually she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).