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Herding Cats:
the Life of a Government Chief Whip
Lord Young of Cookham
Do Whips employ ruthless tactics?
Is the drama “House of Cards” an accurate picture? Why are Whips called Whips? How do you decide which Ministers should be sacked? How do you persuade an MP to vote for an unpopular policy?
As Sir George Young, Lord Young of Cookham was a Conservative MP from 1974 to 2015, when he retired from the Commons and was made a Life Peer.
He served in the Governments of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, David Cameron, Theresa May and -
briefly - of Boris Johnson, resigning when he illegally prorogued Parliament.
He was Secretary of State for Transport, overseeing the privatisation of British Rail, Leader of the House of Commons and then Government Chief Whip in the Coalition Government, and then served as a Whip in the House of Lord.
He also served in the Treasury, and was a Housing and Health Minister.
He is married to Aurelia, who gave a talk last year about her father, the famous sculptor Oscar Nemon.
