Nigel Lawson was the economic brain of Thatcherism
The tax reformer, privatiser and Euro- and climate-sceptic died on April 3rd, aged 91
Nigel Lawson, the former Conservative chancellor of the exchequer who died on April 3rd, leaves two legacies. Britain’s economy is still largely the one he transformed in the Thatcherite wave of privatisation, deregulation and tax reform in the 1980s. And the modern Conservative Party, transfixed by arguments over Europe and a rising tax burden, is packed with pretenders to his intellectual mantle.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The Iron Lady’s chancellor”
From the April 8th 2023 edition
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As Donald Trump threatens to leave Europe on its own
Britain’s government may be about to waste its best chance of success
A bill to unblock house building and boost growth looks far too timid
Paying teenagers to go to school was a bad idea
At least in Britain
Anybody in Britain can call themselves a therapist
That opens the door to abuse
Britain’s capital markets are waging a war on paper
Calls are growing to modernise the country’s shareholding system