Career
Young was the brother of a former United Kingdom cabinet minister David Young, Baron Young of Graffham. He succeeded George Howard as the chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporation board of governors in 1983 and remained in this role until his early death from cancer in 1986. When he first became a British Broadcasting Corporation governor in 1981 he argued that the British Broadcasting Corporation should be funded by advertising.
However, he later changed his mind and argued for the continuation of the television licence during the Peacock Committee.
This disappointed Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who disliked the television licence and had originally appointed Young believing that, as a Conservative, he would challenge the more left-leaning Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation, Alasdair Milne. She believed that Young had “gone native” and was now supporting the British Broadcasting Corporation instead of the government.
