Nigel Lawson, one of the most distinguished and influential members of the Conservative Party and a leading political figure in Great Britain, passed away at the age of 91 on April 3, 2021. He was remembered as a key figure in British politics during the Thatcher Boom Years, which spanned the 1980s.
Lawson served as a Member of Parliament for Blaby in Leicestershire, Central England starting in 1974 until 1992, and was subsequently nominated to the House of Lords. A late convert to the anti-European Union cause, Lawson was a key advocate of Britain’s exit from the EU. He was also a global warming skeptic who ardently believed that man-made climate change was exaggerated.
Prior to his entry into politics, Lawson held the position of City editor of the Sunday Telegraph after obtaining a first-class degree in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford University. During Thatcher’s term as president, Lawson rose through the ranks and was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1983 to 1989. During this period, he championed the privatization and deregulating programs through which the British economy experienced a renaissance.
At the height of his political career, Lawson clashed with Thatcher and Alan Walters over his push for Britain to join the European Exchange-Rate Mechanism, with the disagreement eventually leading to Lawson’s resignation in 1989. Despite the controversy, he still maintained his reputation of integrity intact.
As a Member of the House of Lords, Lawson remained active until December 31, 2022. He was married twice, and is the father of six children including celebrity cook Nigella Lawson and journalist Dominic Lawson.
The Thatcher Boom Years of the 1980s remain an important milestone in British economic and political history, and Nigel Lawson was an instrumental figure in this chapter. His legacy will live on in the British Parliament as well as in his contributions to advocate an exit from the EU and skepticism towards man-made climate change.
