Janet Young, Baroness Young

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Note that there are two other British life peers with similar titles: Barbara Scott Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone; and Lola Young, Baroness Young of Hornsey.

Janet Mary Baker Young, Baroness Young (23 October 1926 – 6 September 2002), was a British Conservative politician. She served as the first ever female Leader of the House of Lords from 1981 to 1983, first as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and from 1982 as Lord Privy Seal. She was the only woman ever appointed to the Cabinet by Margaret Thatcher.

She became a councillor for Oxford City Council in 1957 and was leader by 1967. Not long after she was made a peer on the advice of Edward Heath, as Baroness Young, of Farnworth in the County Palatine of Lancaster. As the Lady Young she was appointed Leader of the House of Lords, and sat on the boards of large corporations like NatWest and Marks and Spencer.

In later life she was mainly known for her opposition to more liberal homosexual legislation. She worked to try to stop legislation going through the House of Lords to equalise the age of consent for homosexual men with that of heterosexuals, and also fought the repeal of Section 28. She was ultimately defeated on both counts.

She died at the age of 75 following a long battle with cancer.

Preceded by Lord Soames	Leader of the House of Lords 1981–1983	Succeeded by Viscount Whitelaw
Preceded by Francis Pym	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1981 – 1982	Succeeded by Cecil Parkinson
Preceded by Humphrey Atkins	Lord Privy Seal 1982–1983	Succeeded by John Biffen