He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nigel Lawson, and Financial Secretary to the Treasury before joining the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to replace Nicholas Ridley in mid-1990 after the latter was force to resign over an anti-German gaffe. After the 1992 UK General Election he became Secretary of State for Social Security and the coincidence of his youthful, Aryan, good looks, right wing reputation and area of departmental responsibility resulted in the satirical television show Spitting Image potraying him as an SS Officer.