Conversation so far:
What did Michael Portillo do in government?
In 1987, Portillo was given his first ministerial post, as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security.
Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
In 1990, Portillo was appointed Minister of State for Local Government, in which post he argued in favour of the ultimately highly unpopular Community Charge system .
Did he have any other government roles?
His rise continued under John Major; he was made a Cabinet Minister in 1992 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and was admitted to the Privy Council the same year.

Question: What kinds of issues was he involved in?
Self-contained rewrite: What kinds of issues was Michael Portillo involved in?