Norman Tebbit

The Right Honourable
The Lord Tebbit
CH PC
Official portrait, 2020
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office
2 September 1985 – 13 June 1987
LeaderMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byJohn Gummer
Succeeded byPeter Brooke
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
2 September 1985 – 13 June 1987
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byThe Earl of Gowrie
Succeeded byKenneth Clarke
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
President of the Board of Trade
In office
16 October 1983 – 2 September 1985
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byCecil Parkinson
Succeeded byLeon Brittan
Secretary of State for Employment
In office
14 September 1981 – 16 October 1983
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byJim Prior
Succeeded byTom King
Minister of State for Industry
In office
5 January 1981 – 14 September 1981
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byThe Viscount Trenchard
Succeeded byNorman Lamont
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade
In office
4 May 1979 – 5 January 1981
Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher
Preceded byMichael Meacher
Succeeded byThe Lord Trefgarne
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
9 July 1992 – 31 March 2022
Life peerage
Member of Parliament
for Chingford
Epping (1970 – Feb 1974)
In office
18 June 1970 – 16 March 1992
Preceded byStan Newens
Succeeded byIain Duncan Smith
Personal details
Born
Norman Beresford Tebbit

(1931-03-29) 29 March 1931 (age 93)
Ponders End, Middlesex, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1956; died 2020)​
[1]
Children3
Residence(s)Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Journalist
  • Pilot
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/service Royal Air Force
Years of service1950–1956
Rank Flying Officer
Part of the politics series on
Thatcherism
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Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, CH, PC (born 29 March 1931)[2] is a retired British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1983), Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1983–1985), and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chairman of the Conservative Party (1985–1987). He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1970 to 1992, representing the constituencies of Epping (1970–1974) and Chingford (1974–1992).

In 1984, Tebbit was injured in the Provisional Irish Republican Army's bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton, where he was staying during the Conservative Party Conference. His wife Margaret was left permanently disabled after the explosion.[3] He left the cabinet following the 1987 general election to care for his wife.[4]

Tebbit considered standing for the Conservative leadership following Margaret Thatcher's resignation in 1990, but came to the decision not to stand as he had earlier made a commitment to his wife to retire from front-line politics.[5] He did not stand for re-election as MP for Chingford in 1992, and was given a life peerage to sit in the House of Lords as Baron Tebbit, of Chingford. He retired from the House on 31 March 2022.[6]

  1. ^ Tominey, Camilla (21 December 2020). "Lady Margaret Tebbit, survivor of Brighton bombing, dies aged 86". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 December 2020. The couple, who married in 1956, have two sons and a daughter, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
  2. ^ "Mr Norman Tebbit". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  3. ^ Ross, Deborah (23 October 2011). "Norman Tebbit: 'Margaret and I both made the same mistake. We neglected to clone ourselves". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022.
  4. ^ Tebbit, p. 332.
  5. ^ "The New Statesman Interview – Norman Tebbit". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011.
  6. ^ "Retirement of a Member: Lord Tebbit". parliament.uk. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 31 March 2022.