Wayland Hilton Young, 2nd Baron Kennet (2 August 1923 – 7 May 2009) was a British writer and politician, notably concerned with planning and conservation. As a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

minister, he was responsible for setting up the Department of the Environment and the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. Later he joined the SDP. He lost his seat in the Lords following the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

Early life

Young was the son of the multi-talented politician

Hilton Young, 1st Baron Kennet Edward Hilton Young, 1st Baron Kennet, (20 March 1879 – 11 July 1960) was a British politician and writer. Family and early life Young was the youngest son of Sir George Young, 3rd Baronet (see Young baronets), a noted classicist and chari ...

, and the sculptor

Kathleen Scott Edith Agnes Kathleen Young, Baroness Kennet, FRBS (née Bruce; formerly Scott; 27 March 1878 – 25 July 1947) was a British sculptor. Trained in London and Paris, Scott was a prolific sculptor, notably of portrait heads and busts and als ...

, née Bruce, widow of Captain

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

of the Antarctic. One uncle was

Geoffrey Winthrop Young Geoffrey Winthrop Young (25 October 1876 – 8 September 1958) was a British climber, poet and educator, and author of several notable books on mountaineering. Young was born in Kensington, the middle son of Sir George Young, 3rd Baronet (see ...

, the mountaineer. His half-brother was the painter and conservationist

Sir Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott, (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, he took an interest in ...

. After

West Downs School West Downs School, Romsey Road, Winchester, Hampshire, was an English independent preparatory school, which was established in 1897 and closed in 1988. History Founding The school was founded by Lionel Helbert (1870–1919), with help from h ...

, he spent one unhappy term at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

before going on to Alpine College, Stowe School and finally as an Exhibitioner at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

from 1942 to 1945, as an Ordinary Seaman and as Sublieutenant. He then went on to the Foreign Office serving between 1946–47 and 1949–1951. In between and after he was a journalist – ''

Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in co ...

'' correspondent in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, and weekly columnist on ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' ("Sitting on a Column"), and theatre critic for ''

Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

''. He was a frequent contributor to ''

Encounter Encounter or Encounters may refer to: Film *''Encounter'', a 1997 Indian film by Nimmala Shankar * ''Encounter'' (2013 film), a Bengali film * ''Encounter'' (2018 film), an American sci-fi film * ''Encounter'' (2021 film), a British sci-fi film * ...

'', where his articles were widely noticed - among them "Sitting on a Fortune" (about prostitution) and a review showing up many errors of fact in

Roland Huntford Roland Huntford ( Horwitch;Race To The Pole: Tragedy, Heroism, and Scott's Antarctic Quest, Ranulph Fiennes, Hyperion, 2004, p. 387 born 1927) is an author, principally of biographies of Polar explorers. Background and education Huntford, the ...

's book on Scott and

Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen began ...

, which denigrated the former (ignoring the scientific character of Scott's expedition), and presented the event as merely a "race" that the latter "won". Young also wrote three novels, and several pamphlets for the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...

on defence,

disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as ...

, pollution, Europe and other topics, some with his wife, Elizabeth Young. Together they also wrote a book, ''Old London Churches'' (which identified the six churches designed by

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principa ...

as works of real genius). Young also took part in the Campaign for the Abolition of

Theatre Censorship The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. It is concerned with matters such as protocol, state visits, investitures, garden parties, royal weddings and funerals. For example, in April 2005 it organised the ...

as its Secretary. His energetic interest in disarmament did not lead him to join the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...

- it worked for unilateral British nuclear disarmament: he believed that only general and comprehensive disarmament could be useful and effective.

Political career

Young succeeded to the title of Baron Kennet, and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

in 1960 upon the death of his father. He started his political career in the Labour Party. He served as Parliamentary Secretary (Junior Minister) in the

Ministry of Housing and Local Government The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed following the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government. It was formed, as the Ministry of Local Government and Planning, ...

(under

Richard Crossman Richard Howard Stafford Crossman (15 December 1907 – 5 April 1974) was a British Labour Party politician. A university classics lecturer by profession, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1945 and became a significant figure among the ...

, then later

Anthony Greenwood Arthur William James Anthony Greenwood, Baron Greenwood of Rossendale, (14 September 1911 – 12 April 1982) was a prominent British Labour Party politician in the 1950s and 1960s. Background and education The son of Arthur Greenwood ( Depu ...

) where he worked, among much else, on planning and conservation, and on devising the soon-to-be-set up Department of the Environment (Secretary of State, Tony Crosland) He was responsible for setting up the

Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the United Kingdom was created under Royal Warrant in 1970 to advise the Queen, Government, Parliament and the public on environmental issues. It was closed on 1 April 2011, as part of the Coali ...

. According to his 1972 publication ''Preservation'' he worked on setting up the "Four Towns Report" and played an important role in establishing the foundations of conservation policy through the Town and Country Planning Act 1968 and his 1970 Kennet Report. After the fall of the

irst An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IR ...

Wilson Government in 1970, he was appointed Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and became Chairman of the

Council for the Protection of Rural England CPRE, The Countryside Charity, formerly known by names such as the ''Council for the Preservation of Rural England'' and the ''Council for the Protection of Rural England'', is a charity in England with over 40,000 members and supporters. Forme ...

, of the Advisory Committee on Pollution of the Sea (ACOPS), and various other organisations. He served as Opposition Spokesman on Foreign Affairs in the House of Lords from 1971 to 1974. He was also a member of the European Parliament, of the

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...

, and a NATO Parliamentarian. Kennet joined the SDP, serving as Chief Whip of the party in the House of Lords between 1981 and 1983. While in that position, he introduced a bill for the Prohibition of Female Circumcision; it passed on 16 July 1985. Following the decision by the party's membership to merge with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in 1988, Kennet was one of the minority who instead opted to remain with the 'continuing' SDP faction, led by David Owen. He returned to the Labour Party in the 1990s before leaving in opposition to

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

's foreign policy. Under the terms of the

, he lost his automatic right to a seat; he was unsuccessful in the election by the Labour

hereditary peers The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...

of two of their number to continue to sit after the coming into force of the Act, finishing last in a field of six candidates. In 2005 he sought to return to the House in the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

among Liberal Democrat hereditary peers caused by the death of

Earl Russell Earl Russell, of Kingston Russell in the County of Dorset, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 30 July 1861 for the prominent Liberal politician Lord John Russell. He was Home Secretary from 1835 to 1839, Foreig ...

; he was unsuccessful, receiving no votes. Until late in life he remained chairman of the Stonehenge Alliance, and an active member of the Avebury Society and Action for the River Kennet (ARK).

Personal life

Lord Kennet married Elizabeth Ann Adams in 1948. They had a son, William Aldus (Thoby) Young, and five daughters: Easter Russell, educationalist; the sculptor

Emily Young Emily Young FRBS (born 1951) is a sculptor, who has been called "Britain's greatest living stone sculptor". She was born in London into a family of artists, writers and politicians. She currently divides her time between studios in London and It ...

; Mopsa English, educationalist; and the writers

Louisa Young Louisa Young is a British novelist, songwriter, short-story writer, biographer and journalist, whose work has appeared in 32 languages. By 2023 she had published seven novels under her own name and five with her daughter, the actor Isabel Adomak ...

(aka children's author Zizou Corder) and Zoe Young. Emily, described as an enigmatic and modish teenager in the 1960s, was the inspiration for the Pink Floyd song "See Emily Play". The family homes were in Bayswater and in Wiltshire, where in 1908 Young's father had bought The Lacket, an 18th-century thatched cottage on the edge of the village of

Lockeridge Lockeridge (pop. approximately 290) is a village in Wiltshire, England. It lies at the edge of the West Woods in the Kennet Valley, west of Marlborough, east of Avebury and south of Swindon. It is south of the A4 road which was historically ...

, near Marlborough.

Works

Young published on a wide range of mostly political topics, especially on the politics of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, on

and arms control, on the churches of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

often collaborating with his wife Elizabeth Young, and on various political scandals, notably the

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in twentieth-century British politics. John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with 19-year-old model Christine Keeler be ...

and the Montesi scandal. His 1964 work ''Eros Denied'' was a groundbreaking manifesto of the sexual revolution. Young's 1972 publication ''Preservation'' is an important insight of present UK conservation and preservation laws and policies, through the conservation struggles of the late 19th century until the 1968 Planning Act.

Bibliography

*
The Italian Left: A Short History of Political Socialism in Italy
', London: Longman, Green & Co, 1949 * ''The Deadweight'', London: The Cresset Press, 1952 * ''Now or Never'', London: The Cresset Press, 1953 * ''Old London Churches'' (with Elizabeth Young), London: Faber & Faber, 1956 * ''The Montesi Scandal: The Story of the Famous Murder That Rocked Modern Italy'', London: Faber & Faber, 1957 * ''Still Alive Tomorrow'', London: Hamilton & Co., 1958 (reprinted Panther, 1960) *
The Socialist Imagination
' (with Elizabeth Young),

, 1960 (pamphlet) * ''Disarmament: Finnegan's Choice'' (with Elizabeth Young), Fabian Society, 1961 (pamphlet) * ''Gogol's Wife & Other Stories'' (translator of work by

Tommaso Landolfi Tommaso Landolfi (9 August 1908 – 8 July 1979) was an Italian writer, translator and literary critic. His numerous grotesque tales and novels, sometimes on the border of speculative fiction, science fiction and realism, place him in a unique a ...

; with Raymond Rosenthal, John Longrigg), Norfolk, Connecticut: New Directions, 1963. * ''Strategy for Survival, First steps in nuclear disarmament'', London: Penguin Special, 1959 * ''The Profumo Affair: Aspects of Conservatism'', London: Penguin, 1963 *
Bombs and Votes
', Fabian Society, 1964 (pamphlet) * ''Eros Denied: Sex in Western Society'', New York: Grove Press, 1964 (other editions are subtitled "Studies in Exclusion") * ''Preservation'', London: Maurice Temple Smith, 1972 *
Still no disarmament
', Fabian Society, 1973 (pamphlet) * ''The Futures of Europe'', Cambridge University Press, 1976
Kennet, Wayland. "Disarmament: Thirty Years of Failure." Conspectus of History 1.5 (1978): 1-15.
* ''The Rebirth of Britain'' (editor), London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982 * ''Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985'', introduced 2 March 1983, statuted 16 July 1985. * ''London's Churches: A Visitor's Companion'' (with Elizabeth Young), London: Grafton Books, 1986, * ''Northern Lazio: An Unknown Italy'' (with Elizabeth Young), London: John Murray, 1990,

Arms

Footnotes

External links

- ''Daily Telegraph'' obituary, 11 May 2009.
"Lord Kennet: writer and politician", ''The Times'' Obituary, 10 May 2009.

Memorial Service
Christ Church, Spitalfields, 12 December 2009.
Town and Country Planning Act of 1968The Papers of Wayland Young, 2nd Baron Kennet
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Wayland 1923 births Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Stowe School People educated at West Downs School British non-fiction writers British diplomats Kennet, Wayland Young, 2nd Baron Kennet, Wayland Young, 2nd Baron Kennet, Wayland Young, 2nd Baron 2009 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War II Labour Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979 Social Democratic Party (UK) hereditary peers British male writers Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 Male non-fiction writers