Janet Young, Baroness Young

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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. Only Janet Young, however, should properly be known as "Lady Young" or "Baroness Young"

Janet 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 female member of Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet.

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 legislation for gay people. She worked to try to stop legislation going through the House of Lords to equalise the age of consent for homosexual men and heterosexuals and for the repeal of Section 28.

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

[edit] Quotations

Lady Young was often frustrated by confusion between her and Lady Young of Old Scone, who held opposing views on issues such as gay rights. On 11 April 2000 she said in the House of Lords:

However, it would help the whole debate if the noble Baroness did not keep saying that there are two "Baroness Youngs": if I may say so, I am the Baroness Young, while she is the Baroness Young of Old Scone. We would not run into such difficulties if the noble Baroness were to refer to herself in that correct form of address on all occasions. [1]

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