About
Nigel Lawson (1932-2023) was a British Conservative politician. After a career in journalism (Financial Times, Sunday Telegraph, The Spectator), he entered Parliament in 1974. He served as Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1979-1981), Secretary of State for Energy (1981-1983), and then Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1983 to 1989. He was the architect of the 'Big Bang' financial deregulation in 1986 and a major privatization program. His 1988 income tax cuts were notable. After resigning in 1989, he was made a life peer in 1992. He later became known as a climate change skeptic and chaired the Vote Leave campaign.
* 1932-03-11 — † 2023-04-03
Major works
- The View from No. 11: Memoirs of a Tory Radical (1992)memoir
- An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming (2008)essay
Key milestones
- 1986Implemented the 'Big Bang' financial deregulation of the London Stock Exchange.
- 1988Cut the top rate of income tax from 60% to 40%.
- 2016Chaired the official 'Vote Leave' campaign for the UK's exit from the European Union.
Themes
Economic liberalismFinancial deregulationPrivatizationEuroscepticismClimate change skepticism
Sources: discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk · oxfordreference.com · npg.org.uk