Contains spoilers for this episode.
The young William Pitt becomes Prime Minister and targets the Prince Regent's extravagant spending. Blackadder fears that removing George from the Civil List will destroy his own comfortable position, so he seeks one extra parliamentary vote. Sir Talbot Buxomley seems willing to help, but dies during the interview. His seat at Dunny-on-the-Wold offers Edmund a second opportunity: a rotten borough whose tiny electorate can be controlled by whoever holds the land.
Blackadder arranges a by-election with Baldrick as his candidate and himself as the only voter. An implausibly huge majority secures the seat, but Pitt persuades the new MP to vote against George. With the Commons lost, Edmund remembers that the measure must also pass the Lords. He tells the Prince to appoint a loyal supporter and provide money to influence the existing peers, expecting the promotion and a generous share of the funds to come his way.
George misunderstands the hint and makes Baldrick a lord instead. Edmund's expensive ceremonial robes become useless fancy dress, and the money for the political operation has already gone to his servant. Downstairs, Blackadder demands it back and discovers that Baldrick has spent the entire fortune on a turnip. The political rescue ends in personal disaster for the butler, who destroys the prized vegetable and swears that he will leave politics alone.