On 17 December 1921 Shipwright was adopted as a Conservative candidate for Penryn and Falmouth, succeeding the retiring Conservative MP Sir Edward Nicholl. Shipwright was only 23 years old but his record of serving throughout the war was noted.The Times, 19 December 1921, p. 7. He had begun a business career as a Director of Porthia China Clays Ltd. During his election campaign Shipwright's election address pledged him to a strong Navy, and a foreign policy which aimed at securing an honourable peace with a just settlement of reparations and war debts. In domestic policy he sought economy without decreasing safety and efficiency. The Liberal Party's national split was mirrored in Penryn and Falmouth with Sir Courtenay Mansel fighting as the official candidate but opposed by George Hay Morgan who was a former MP for Truro; there was also a Labour Party candidate. Shipwright won the election with 11,566 votes and a majority of 2,687 over Mansel. To celebrate his election, the ex-servicemen of Falmouth ceremoniously dragged his motor car uphill to the station when he caught the train to London to take his seat.See picture, The Times, 21 November 1922, p. 16.
