 Coke was re-elected to Parliament in 1790, at a time of great political trouble. The French Revolution a year earlier had torn the Whig party in half, with Coke and Fox in the isolated minority who supported the revolutionaries as their acts became more brutal. With the declaration of war in 1793, an impact was finally felt in Britain with a rise in agricultural prices and rent. It also led to the establishment of local yeomanry forces to defend the country, something Coke opposed. This reduced his popularity in Norfolk and led to suspicions he might be a Jacobin, to the point where he was forced to publicly declare that he was not a Republican and "detested their principles". Eventually, late September 1798, he raised the Holkham Yeoman Cavalry, commanding it as a Major, to defend against any invasion. This unit was dissolved in 1802 with the Peace of Amiens, but after war broke out again a year later more volunteer regiments were formed. Coke was notably absent from any preparations for defence, feeling that the risks of invasion were exaggerated, but was eventually persuaded by public opinion to reform the Yeoman Cavalry in 1803; it was again dissolved in 1805.
