Tributes are pouring in following the death of Lord Lawson, Margaret Thatcher’s tax-cutting Chancellor, and a titan of 20th century British politics.
Lawson, who died aged 91, became Chancellor in 1983, overseeing a period of growth that came to be known as the Lawson Boom, before resigning in 1989 amid policy disagreements with Thatcher.
He helped to define Thatcherism and post-war conservative thinking. His tax-cutting legacy continues to influence Conservatives today.
The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said: “One of the first things I did as Chancellor was hang a picture of Nigel Lawson above my desk. He was a transformational Chancellor and an inspiration to me and many others.”
Sir John Redwood, who ran Margaret Thatcher’s policy unit in 10 Downing Street, told The Telegraph: “Nigel was a central figure in creating an enterprise economy in the 1980s. His dramatic tax rate reductions boosted growth, investment and the return of investors to the UK. We will greatly miss him and I send my condolences to his family.”
Political foes and sparring partners also paid tribute. Journalist Will Hutton said: “I disagreed with Nigel Lawson on monetarism, the MTFS, shadowing the mark, slashing the top rate of tax and on Brexit. But he was a man seriously to respect. However wrong, he had clear arguments to dispute.”
While Lawson will be remembered as the tax-slashing Chancellor, he also reformed the British economy through a massive privatisation drive, and advocated Bank of England independence a decade before Gordon Brown made it a reality.
Lawson began his career as a journalist, working for the FT and the Sunday Telegraph before becoming editor of the Spectator in 1966. Matthew d’Ancona, one of his successors as editor, said he was “probably the most consequential chancellor of the post-war period” as well as “engaging and kind in private conversation”.
Lord Lawson had six children from two marriages, including Nigella Lawson, the food writer and celebrity cook, Dominic Lawson, a journalist, and Tom Lawson, headmaster of Eastbourne College.
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