he was Secretary of State for Employment to be the Chairman of the Manpower Services Commission in 1981, the Government Agency dealing with unemployment and training matters. As such he became involved in government decisions and the Cabinet ministers who dealt with him regarded him very positively; he made his position as a 'dry' on economic policy. He was created a life peer taking the title Baron Young of Graffham, of Graffham in the County of West Sussex on 10 October 1984. One month later, on 11 September it was announced that Young was to enter the cabinet as Minister without Portfolio (the first for twenty years) to advise the government on unemployment issues. As Minister without Portfolio he was appointed to the Privy Council. On 2 September 1985 he became Secretary of State for Employment. 1987 election Thatcher regarded Young as personally loyal to her and decided in March 1987 to put him into a central role in planning the 1987 election campaign, in effect to keep an eye on Norman Tebbit whom she suspected to be more interested in advancing his claims on the leadership. Young was in charge of organising Thatcher's tours and appearances on television. One week before polling day on 4 June 1987, Young and Tebbit had a major disagreement about the campaign strategy, a day nicknamed 'Wobbly Thursday'. According to The Independent, Young grabbed Tebbit by the lapels and said "Norman, listen to me, we are about to lose this fucking election". Trade and Industry Following the election Tebbit announced his retirement from the government, and Young was promoted to Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. He served two years in the role and privatised the last of the state industries in the department. In May 1989 he told the Prime Minister he would like to return to private life. He resigned from the Cabinet in 1989 but received an appointment as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party to help Kenneth Baker reorganise Central Office. Young stood down from his ministerial post on the resignation of Thatcher. Later business career Young then went back to business as a director of Salomon Inc. and executive chairman of Cable & Wireless. From 1993 he was president of the Institute of Directors, and from 1995 was chairman of Council of University College, London. He was the first president of Jewish Care (1990–1997). Young retired from Cable