Parliamentary career
Bellingham first entered Parliament at the 1983 election after winning the seat for North West Norfolk, having defeated the incumbent MP Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler, who in 1981 was the only Conservative to defect to the newly formed SDP. He held his seat until being defeated during the 1997 election. He contested his former seat at the election in 2001, and won it back. He was re-elected in 2005 with a 9000 vote majority, and again in 2010 with a majority of 14,810. He was re-elected at the 2015 general election and 2017 general election.
Bellingham was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry in July 2002, before becoming an Opposition Whip in May 2005. From November 2006 until the 2010 general election he was a Shadow Minister for the Department of Constitutional Affairs. He won the North West Norfolk seat in the 2010 election, and was appointed a Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the coalition government within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office covering; 'Overseas Territories, Africa, United Nations, economic issues, conflict resolution and climate change'.
In 2009, whilst debating the Queen's speech, he was described as "looking uncomfortable" when MPs joked about his distant ancestor John Bellingham, who assassinated Spencer Perceval. Bellingham later stated: "I wouldn't bring it up in conversation that I'm a descendant—or a near-descendant—of a murderer of a prime minister. But I don't try to deny it".
In 2011, he abstained on the military intervention in Libya.
On 29 September 2011, while quoting Bellingham, the Antigua Observer described him as the United Kingdom's Minister of Overseas Territories.
While in Antigua, Bellingham had commented on the surprise decision of former Premier of Bermuda Ewart Brown to provide asylum to four former Uyghur captives in Guantanamo.
This is something that we weren't consulted on by the last (Brown) administration. We have spoken to the United States about it—it's our understanding that the arrangement was not to be permanent and we're looking to the US State Department to find a permanent solution. We're working with them to try and achieve that.
Bellingham became vice-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Speedway Racing in July 2015.
In Parliament, he was a member of the Panel of Chairs, the Environment Committee, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, the Trade & Industry Committee and the High Speed Rail (London–West Midlands) Bill Committee.
Bellingham stood down from parliament in the 2019 general election, telling his constituents he had "agonised" over the decision.
