Thomas Holmes was an English Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

, who managed elections in the government interest in the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

 during the 1750s and 1760s.

Holmes had influence over the election of members for five of the six seats in the island's boroughs (Newport

Newport (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency)

Newport was a parliamentary borough located in Newport , which was abolished in for the 1885 general election. It was occasionally referred to by the alternative name of Medina....

, Newtown

Newtown (UK Parliament constituency)

Newtown was a parliamentary borough located in Newtown on the Isle of Wight, which was represented in the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...

 and Yarmouth

Yarmouth (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency)

Yarmouth was a borough constituency of the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...

). Although it was accepted that he should have first use of the seats for himself and his family (his brothers General Henry Holmes

Henry Holmes (general)

Lieutenant-General Henry Holmes was a British army officer and Member of Parliament .The second son of Henry Holmes, an MP and lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Wight, Holmes was commissioned as an ensign in the 28th Foot in 1721. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1723, captain in 1727, major in...

 and Admiral Charles Holmes sat for Yarmouth and Newport respectively), he otherwise exercised this influence in favour of government candidates. Even though the extent of his power in the boroughs fell far short of the power of many borough-owners who could directly return MPs, he was sufficiently valuable to the Pelham

Henry Pelham

Henry Pelham was a British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 27 August 1743 until his death in 1754...

 and Newcastle

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman, whose official life extended throughout the Whig supremacy of the 18th century. He is commonly known as the Duke of Newcastle.A protégé of Sir Robert Walpole, he served...

 ministries for him to ask for, and be given, an Irish peerage. He was created Baron Holmes

Baron Holmes

Baron Holmes was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came on 11 September 1760 when the politician Thomas Holmes was made Baron Holmes, of Kilmallock in the County of Limerick. The title became extinct on his death on 21 July 1764. The second creation came...

 on 11 September 1760; the peerage became extinct on his death in 1764.

Holmes was Governor of the Isle of Wight from 6 April 1763 until his death.