Michael Young (sociologist)

Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington (9 August 1915 - 14 January 2002) was a British sociologist, social activist and politician, and the originator of The Dead Citizens Charter.

During an active life, Young was instrumental in shaping Labour Party thinking, was a leading protagonist on social reform, and founded or helped found a number of socially useful organisations. These include the Consumers Association, the National Consumer Council, the Open University, the National Extension College, the Open College of the Arts and Language Line, a telephone interpreting business.

Young died in January 2002. An obituary in The Guardian said:

Michael Young, who has died aged 86, was a man of many parts: educator, author, academic, consumer advocate, policymaker, political activist - and rebel. Over and above these were two other roles, inventor and entrepreneur, which made him a unique figure in British 20th-century social reform. He was the country's great seeds man of social ideas and institutions. The new paths he hacked out in education, consumer rights and health services have helped millions of people. Some of his ideas - like the Open University and the Consumers' Association - have become world famous, but there were numerous other projects of which even his friends were unaware, like the do-it-yourself garage in Milton Keynes.