Sir George Young

The Right Honourable The Lord Young of Cookham CH PC
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Government Chief Whip in the Commons
In office 19 October 2012 – 14 July 2014
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Andrew Mitchell
Succeeded by	Michael Gove
Leader of the House of Commons Lord Privy Seal
In office 12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Deputy	David Heath
Preceded by	Harriet Harman
Succeeded by	Andrew Lansley
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In office 8 September 2009 – 11 May 2010
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	Alan Duncan
Succeeded by	Rosie Winterton
In office 1 June 1998 – 26 September 2000
Leader	William Hague
Preceded by	Gillian Shephard
Succeeded by	Angela Browning
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 1 June 1998 – 26 September 2000
Leader	William Hague
Preceded by	Gillian Shephard
Succeeded by	Angela Browning
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
In office 11 June 1997 – 1 June 1998
Leader	William Hague
Preceded by	David Clark
Succeeded by	John Maples
Secretary of State for Transport
In office 5 July 1995 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Brian Mawhinney
Succeeded by	John Prescott (Environment, Transport and the Regions)
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office 11 July 1994 – 5 July 1995
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Stephen Dorrell
Succeeded by	Michael Jack
Member of Parliament for North West Hampshire
In office 1 May 1997 – 30 March 2015
Preceded by	David Mitchell
Succeeded by	Kit Malthouse
Member of Parliament for Ealing Acton Acton (1974–1983)
In office 28 February 1974 – 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Nigel Spearing
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1941-07-16) 16 July 1941 Oxford, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Aurelia Nemon-Stuart (1964–present)
Children	Sophia George Hugo Camilla
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford University of Surrey

George Samuel Knatchbull Young, Baron Young of Cookham, CH PC (born 16 July 1941), known as Sir George Young, 6th Baronet from 1960 to 2015, is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 2015, having represented North West Hampshire since 1997 and Ealing Acton prior to that. He served in Cabinet from 1995 to 1997 as Secretary of State for Transport, and later as the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal from 2010 to 2012. On 19 October 2012 Young was re-appointed to the Cabinet as Chief Whip of the House of Commons following the resignation of Andrew Mitchell.

On 29 November 2013 Young announced he would be retiring from the Commons in May 2015 and would not be standing at the next election. In August 2015, it was announced by Downing Street that Young was to be raised to the peerage, being created Baron Young of Cookham, of Cookham in the Royal County of Berkshire, on 29 September 2015. He sits on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords.

Early life

Young was born in Oxford in 1941, the elder son of Sir George Peregrine "Gerry" Young, 5th Baronet, CMG and Elisabeth née Knatchbull-Hugessen. His father was a diplomat who met Elisabeth while serving in Beijing (where her father, Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, was British Ambassador). Upon his father's death in 1960, George succeeded to the baronetcy created in 1813. Young is a great-great-grandson of Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp.

Education and early career

Young was educated at St. Aubyns Preparatory School in Rottingdean, Eton College, and Christ Church, Oxford where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating in 1963 (proceeding MA). He was active in student politics while at Oxford, holding various offices in the Oxford University Conservative Association and being elected to the Standing Committee of the Oxford Union.

After graduating, he worked for a while at the merchant bank Hill Samuel, and then at the National Economic Development Office from 1966 to 1967. He then spent two years as Kobler Research Fellow at the University of Surrey, where he completed an MPhil. From 1969 to 1974, Young was an economic advisor to the Post Office Corporation.

Career in local politics

Young was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Lambeth from 1968 to 1971, together with his wife and future British Prime Minister John Major. He represented the ward of Clapham Town, and served on the Housing Committee. He and other Lambeth councillors worked as refuse collectors at weekends during a strike. Young lost his seat on Lambeth Council in 1971.

In 1970, Young was elected to the Greater London Council (GLC) as one of four Members for the London Borough of Ealing. He served on the GLC from 1970 to 1973, where he was vice-chairman of the Strategic Planning Authority. He did not seek re-election to the GLC in 1973, having been selected as the Conservative candidate for the Acton constituency. He was later one of the local government ministers who abolished the GLC in 1986.

Parliamentary career

Member of Parliament

Young was elected to parliament at the February 1974 general election as MP for Acton with a majority of 1,300, defeating the sitting Labour Party MP, Nigel Spearing (who was returned to Parliament a few weeks later after winning a by-election in Newham South). Young was re-elected as MP for Acton at the October 1974 general election with a majority of 808. He continued to represent Acton (renamed Ealing Acton in 1983) for the next 23 years, until the seat was abolished in boundary changes. He was selected for the safe Conservative seat of North West Hampshire prior to the 1997 general election to replace the retiring MP Sir David Mitchell (the father of Andrew Mitchell whom Young would, in 2012, succeed as Chief Whip). Young was elected with a majority of 11,551, and served as the MP for North West Hampshire until his retirement in 2015.

Posts

From 1976 to 1979 Young served as an opposition whip. When the Conservative Party won the 1979 general election, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Security. From 1981 to 1986, Young served as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment.

On the backbenches from 1986 to 1990, Young was among the leaders of the rebellion within the Conservative Party against the implementation of the poll tax. Shortly before leaving office in 1990, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher brought Young back into government as a whip (Comptroller of the Household) as part of her attempts to reunite the party.

When John Major became Prime Minister in November 1990, he gave Young the role of Minister for Housing and Planning. During this time, Young is alleged to have said "the homeless are what you step over when you come out of the opera". In 1992 when asked during parliamentary discussions of the Armley Asbestos Disaster for financial assistance in surveying local housing in the Armley area for residual asbestos, Young responded that the government would not provide financial assistance to the home owners or the council to pay for decontamination as this "would not be a justifiable use of public funds".

Young then served as Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1994 to 1995, and in Cabinet as Secretary of State for Transport from 1995 to 1997. He was appointed a privy counsellor in 1993. Following the Conservative Party's defeat in 1997, Young was appointed Shadow Defence Secretary by the new party leader, William Hague. In 1998, Young became Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. In 1999, he was given additional responsibilities as Spokesman for Constitutional Affairs. He was a member of the Modernisation Select Committee and of the House of Commons Commission from 1998 to 2000.

Young resigned from the Shadow Cabinet in September 2000 in order to stand for election as Speaker of the House of Commons. Fourteen MPs put their names forward to succeed the retiring Betty Boothroyd, and many observers considered Young to be the favourite. He had support from both the Conservative and Labour leadership, however many backbench MPs, particularly those from the Labour Party (who held a large majority in the House at the time), viewed Young as someone who had too recently been a member of his party's front bench team and was thus not sufficiently in touch with ordinary MPs. In the end, Young was not elected as Speaker, the members of the House choosing instead Labour MP Michael Martin.

From 2000 to 2009, Young remained on the backbenches. He was elected chairman of the House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges in 2001, and was re-elected to that role in 2005.

Young stood again for the position of Speaker of the House of Commons in 2009, finishing second in the ballot of MPs to fellow Conservative MP John Bercow. In the first ever secret ballot of MPs to choose the new Speaker, Bercow defeated Young in the final round of voting by a margin of 322 to 271.

On 8 September 2009, Conservative party leader David Cameron appointed Young to the front bench again, taking up his former role of Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, replacing Alan Duncan who had held the post since January 2009. He became Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal on 12 May 2010 after the Conservative Party formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats following the 2010 general election. In this role, he attended Cabinet meetings, but not as a full member.

Young left government in the reshuffle of September 2012, and David Cameron recommended his appointment as a Companion of Honour. However, his return to the backbenches was short-lived, as following Andrew Mitchell's resignation as Chief Whip the following month, Cameron chose Young to replace him.

Young is Patron of the Tory Reform Group and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling.

In October 2012 it was reported that Young supported a new group of Conservative MPs established to reconnect the Tories with working class voters. The Blue Collar Conservatism group aims to develop policies to attract "aspirational" voters on average incomes whose support is "vital" to winning a Commons majority.

On 29 November 2013 Young announced he would stand down as an MP at the 2015 general election.

Tower block housing

Young was a vocal critic of tower block housing, saying in 1974: "Nearly all local authorities have now stopped building this type of accommodation, as it is generally recognized they provide an inadequate environment for those who have to live in them. But it is no consolation to the many thousands who will have to live on these estates for the foreseeable future to know that the mistake will not recur." One measure proposed by Young was to make grants and subsidies available to minimize "some of the disadvantages of living on estates containing tower blocks." He described tower block housing as "an economic and social disaster" and said he would "like an assurance that loan sanction would not be given for any more."

Domestic violence

In February 1975 Young was appointed to the newly formed select committee on Violence in the Family. The committee's terms of reference were "To consider the extent, nature and causes of the problems of families where there is violence between the partners or where children suffer non-accidental injury: and to make recommendations." The committee issued an interim report in September 1975 and was instrumental in setting up several government research reports into domestic violence. In 1976 he sponsored the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill which allowed victims of rape to remain anonymous.

Cycling

In 1982 Young and his children appeared on a British Rail poster alongside Jimmy Savile to promote new measures to allow people to take their bicycles on trains more easily. Young had made a critical speech in Parliament about the provisions for cyclists to take their bikes on trains, and when British Rail implemented new measures they invited Young to appear on the publicity poster. An ever-enthusiastic cyclist, the British media nicknamed Young the "Bicycling Baronet".

Personal and family life

Young succeeded as 6th baronet in 1960 and married Aurelia Nemon-Stuart, daughter of the sculptor Oscar Nemon, at Oxford in 1964. They have four children: Sophia (b. 23 May 1965), George (b. 11 October 1966), Hugo (b. 23 September 1970) and Camilla (b. 1975). His elder son, the Hon. George Young, is heir apparent to the family baronetcy.

Lord Young supports the west London football club Queens Park Rangers (QPR) and has served as a churchwarden and a member of a diocesan synod in the Church of England.

In 1987 Young was banned from driving after being caught drink driving. It was reported that he smashed into a motorway barrier and continued on until stopped by police.

Young's family wealth is estimated at over £1 million.

Titles, honours, and styles

Styles

• 1941–1960: Mr George Samuel Knatchbull Young
• 1960–1974: Sir George Young Bt
• 1974–1993: Sir George Young Bt MP
• 1993–2012: The Rt Hon. Sir George Young Bt MP
• 2012–2015: The Rt Hon. Sir George Young Bt CH MP
• 2015: The Rt Hon. Sir George Young Bt CH
• 2015-: The Rt Hon. The Lord Young of Cookham CH PC

Honours

•  : Baron
•  : Baronet
•  : Companion of Honour

Arms

Arms of Sir George Young

Notes Arms of Young of Formosa Place displaying a baronet's augmentation of honour: the Red Hand of Ulster (not applicable after his elevation to the peerage) Crest A Demi-Unicorn couped Ermine maned armed and hoofed Or gorged with a Naval Crown Azure supporting an Anchor Sable Helm That of a Baron Escutcheon Per fess Sable and Argent in chief two Lions rampant-guardant and in base an Anchor with cable all Counterchanged Supporters (awaiting grant by College of Arms) Motto Be right and persist Other elements Companion of Honour insignia appended

Ancestry

Family of Sir George Young

16. Sir George Young, 2nd Baronet               8. Sir George Young, 3rd Baronet                       17. Susan Mackworth-Praed               4. Sir George Young, 4th Baronet                             18. Evory Kennedy               9. Alice Eacy Kennedy                       19. Alicia Hamilton               2. Sir George Young, 5th Baronet                                   20. Rev. Peregrine Ilbert               10. Sir Courtenay Ilbert                       21. Rose Ann Owen               5. Jessie Helen Ilbert                             22. Charles Bradley               11. Jessie Bradley                       23. Anne Marian George               1. Sir George Young, 6th Baronet                                         24. Sir Edward Knatchbull, 9th Baronet               12. Rev. Reginald Knatchbull-Hugessen                       25. Fanny Catherine Knight               6. Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen                             26. Sir Alexander Montgomery, 3rd Baronet               13. Rachel Mary Montgomery                       27. Caroline Rose Campbell               3. Elisabeth Knatchbull-Hugessen                                   28. Henry Perkins Wolrige               14. Sir Robert Gilmour, 1st Baronet                       29. Ann Gordon               7. Mary Gilmour                             30. Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp               15. Lady Susan Lygon                       31. Lady Mary Stanhope

See also

• Young baronets of Formosa Place
• Sustrans
• List of living Life Peers

External links

• Sir George Young Bt MP Official constituency website
• George Young's channel on YouTube
• www.parliament.uk
• Profile: George Young, BBC News, 30 March 2006
• Cycling Group APPG on SourceWatch
• Burke's Peeerage & Baronetage online
• The Rt Hon. The Lord Young of Cookham CH at www.debretts.com

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Nigel Spearing	Member of Parliament for Acton 1974–1983	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Ealing Acton 1983–1997
Preceded by David Mitchell	Member of Parliament for North West Hampshire 1997–2015	Succeeded by Kit Malthouse
Political offices
Preceded by Alastair Goodlad	Comptroller of the Household 1990	Succeeded by David Lightbown
Preceded by Stephen Dorrell	Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1994–1995	Succeeded by Michael Jack
Preceded by Brian Mawhinney	Secretary of State for Transport 1995–1997	Succeeded by John Prescott
Preceded by David Clark	Shadow Secretary of State for Defence 1997–1998	Succeeded by John Maples
Preceded by Gillian Shephard	Shadow Leader of the House of Commons 1998–2000	Succeeded by Angela Browning
	Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1998–2000
Preceded by Alan Duncan	Shadow Leader of the House of Commons 2009–2010	Succeeded by Rosie Winterton
Preceded by Harriet Harman	Leader of the House of Commons 2010–2012	Succeeded by Andrew Lansley
	Lord Privy Seal 2010–2012
Preceded by Andrew Mitchell	Government Chief Whip of the House of Commons 2012–2014	Succeeded by Michael Gove
	Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 2012–2014
Party political offices
Preceded by Andrew Mitchell	Conservative Chief Whip of the House of Commons 2012–2014	Succeeded by Michael Gove
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir Gerry Young	Young baronet of Formosa Place 1960–present	Incumbent