He entered the government of Margaret Thatcher when she appointed him as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry in 1988, as minister for consumer affairs. He was moved by John Major in 1990 to the same position at the Department for Employment and then the Department of Education following the 1992 general election, taking responsibility for schools. He was promoted to become Minister of State for higher education at the Department for Education and Employment in 1995 and became a member of the Privy Council in 1996, shortly before leaving office in 1997.