𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Norman Tebbit, one of the giants of British politics who played a huge role in the Government of Margaret Thatcher, has died at the age of 94. He was the employment minister who famously said his father, during a period of high unemployment in the 1930s, “didn’t riot. He got on his bike and looked for work, and he kept looking till he found it.”

The comment became symbolic of the Thatcher era when Conservatives attempted to end a culture of reliance on the state, and instead encouraged self-reliance and work. To the party’s opponents, it was emblematic of what they saw as an uncaring attitude, but it helped propel Lady Thatcher to two landslide election victories in addition to her first victory in 1979.

Lord Tebbit was also known for his bravery during the IRA bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton, as the Conservatives held their 1984 Conservative Party conference. His wife, Margaret, was injured and left permanently disabled.

His opponents called him the Chingford Skinhead, referring to the constituency he represented and his supposedly tough approach. However the nickname was also adopted by some of his admirers. The satirical programme Spitting Image portrayed him as a leather-clad bovver boy with metal chains.

He served as employment secretary, President of the Board of Trade (the equivalent of Business Secretary) and party chair, a key role in the Conservative government in those days. In 1992 he became a member of the House of Lords.

His son William said he had died “peacefully at home”.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Norman Tebbit “was an icon in British politics and his death will cause sadness across the political spectrum”.

Lord Tebbit was born in Middlesex to working-class parents, and became a symbol of Margaret Thatcher’s appeal to working class voters. He went to Edmonton County Grammar School. In November 1950, he was commissioned into the Royal Air Force for national service in the rank of pilot officer and was later promoted to flying officer.

He was loved by Conservatives and loathed by his political opponents. During a debate in Parliament in 1978, Labour MP Michael Foot, later to become Labour leader, called Tebbit a “semi-house-trained polecat”. When he joined the House of Lords, Lord Tebbit chose a polecat as one of the symbols on his coat of arms.