Latest news with #LordTebbit
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Tebbit's wins need to be won all over again
Lord Tebbit, the former Cabinet minister who has died at the age of 94, considered the Employment Act of 1982 to be his greatest political achievement. The legislation continued the process of dismantling the power of the trade unions which had brought the country to its knees throughout the 1970s. It ended many of the legal immunities enjoyed by the unions and exposed them to civil court proceedings for damages brought by the businesses they targeted. Secondary picketing and the closed shop had already been severely curtailed, but the 1982 Act sought to provide specific remedies for real abuses and to redress the imbalance of bargaining power between unions and employers. It reduced the legal protection of union funds during strikes, enabling the sequestration of the National Union of Mineworkers' assets during its stoppage of 1984-85, and of the print unions' during the Wapping dispute of 1986-87. The intervening 40 years or so have seen a marked decrease in days lost to strike action. No longer is the country routinely held to ransom by a handful of politically-motivated union bosses. But while this trend has continued in the private sector, in the public one it is a different matter. Here unions are once again flexing their muscles, especially the increasingly militant British Medical Association (BMA). Junior doctors, whose industrial action in 2022 caused the cancellation of 1.5 million hospital appointments, have again voted to strike over pay demanding another 29 per cent increase. Now known as resident doctors, they have seen their pay jump by almost 30 per cent in three years yet are prepared to inflict further damage on an already broken NHS. One of the Tebbit-era reforms was for unions to vote on strike action; but while 90 per cent of those who took part in the BMA ballot favoured more walkouts, they represented less than half of those entitled to vote. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, made much of the Tory failure to settle the last dispute when he was in opposition. Now he is also refusing to negotiate with the BMA, insisting that there is no money available. Yet Labour has also promised to use a new workers' rights Bill to repeal Tory legislation requiring a minimum service to be guaranteed by striking unions. That is a decision ministers are about to regret. The battle that Norman Tebbit fought 40 years ago will need to be won all over again.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Norman Tebbit was a very effective politician
Former cabinet minister Norman Tebbit has been described as a "very effective politician" in his day after he died aged 94 on Dorrell worked with Lord Tebbit as a young MP in Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Dorrell, now a Liberal Democrat in Worcester, said: "Nobody could take away the fact that he was an effective campaigner and a very courageous one too."I didn't always agree with the points he made, very often I didn't, but I wouldn't wish today to take away the fact he was a very effective politician." Speaking to BBC Hereford & Worcester, the former heath secretary added: "At a personal level he was always considerate, he was never personally unpleasant. "One of the things I learnt as a young MP when he was a senior minister was that it is perfectly possible to very profoundly disagree with someone's politics whilst still having a very civil personal relationship."In a statement released on Tuesday, Lord Tebbit's son William said: "At 11.15pm on 7 July 2025 Lord Tebbit died peacefully at home aged 94."His family ask that their privacy is respected at this time and a further statement regarding funeral arrangements will be made in due course." Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Norman Tebbit, Former U.K. Minister and Close Thatcher Ally, Dies at 94
Lord Norman Tebbit, an uncompromising right-wing British politician who was once considered to be a potential prime minister, died on Monday.. He was 94. His son William said in a statement to the BBC that Lord Tebbit had 'died peacefully at home.' He did not give a cause of death. Lord Tebbit, a member of Parliament from 1970 to 1992, was a leading figure in Margaret Thatcher's government but abandoned high office to tend to his wife after she was mostly paralyzed in a hotel bombing by the Irish Republican Army, in which he was also badly hurt. Michael Dobbs, an author, former close aide to Mr. Tebbit and fellow member of the House of Lords, told the BBC he had confirmed the death with the family. 'Norman has been frail — or was frail — for quite some time, and sadly it's almost a relief for his wonderful family and for Norman himself,' he said. Well into his 80s, Lord Tebbit — ennobled as a baron in 1992 — retained the ability to project himself into the public eye, both as a blogger and from the red leather benches of the House of Lords, Britain's unelected upper house of Parliament. From both platforms, he sniped at his opponents and at members of his own party who did not share his uncompromising views. He resigned from the Lords in 2022. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Western Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Tributes paid to Tory ‘titan' Norman Tebbit after his death aged 94
The Conservative grandee was one of Margaret Thatcher's closest political allies and played a key role in Tory politics for a generation. As employment secretary he took on the trade unions, and as chairman of the Conservative Party from 1985 to 1987 he helped Mrs Thatcher secure her third general election victory. He also served as trade secretary and had a reputation as a political bruiser. He suffered grave injuries in the 1984 Brighton bombing, which left his wife, Margaret, paralysed from the neck down. After the 1987 election success he left his post as Tory chairman to help care for Margaret, who died in 2020. He left the Commons in 1992 and became a member of the House of Lords. Lord Tebbit's son William said his father died 'peacefully at home' late on Monday night. Former prime minister Rishi Sunak said Lord Tebbit was a 'titan of Conservative politics' whose 'resilience, conviction and service left a lasting mark on our party and our country'. Conservative leader Mrs Badenoch said: 'Norman Tebbit was an icon in British politics and his death will cause sadness across the political spectrum. 'He was one of the leading exponents of the philosophy we now know as Thatcherism and his unstinting service in the pursuit of improving our country should be held up as an inspiration to all Conservatives.' She said the 'stoicism and courage' he showed following the Brighton bombing and the care he showed for his wife was a reminder that he was 'first and foremost a family man who always held true to his principles'. Mrs Badenoch said: 'He never buckled under pressure and he never compromised.' Lord Tebbit outside the Grand Hotel in Brighton, scene of the 1984 bombing (Chris Ison/PA) Lord Tebbit was a prominent figure in the Thatcher era who was unafraid of confrontation as he helped drive forward the sometimes divisive economic and social reforms that characterised the 1980s. Following inner city riots in Handsworth, Birmingham, and Brixton, south London, in 1981, he made comments which led to him being dubbed 'Onyerbike' by critics who felt he was a symbol of Conservative indifference to rising unemployment. Rejecting suggestions that street violence was a natural response to rising unemployment, he retorted: 'I grew up in the 30s with an unemployed father. He didn't riot. He got on his bike and looked for work, and he kept looking till he found it.' He was memorably described by Labour's Michael Foot as a 'semi-house-trained polecat' and was also nicknamed the 'Chingford skinhead' in reference to his Essex constituency, while his puppet on satirical show Spitting Image was a leather jacket-clad hardman – an image Lord Tebbit enjoyed because 'he was always a winner'. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and party chairman Norman Tebbit wave to the crowds from Conservative Central Office, Smith Square, after the 1987 election win (Rebecca Naden/PA) In 1990, in response to concerns over integration of migrants, he set out the 'cricket test', suggesting which side British Asians supported in internationals should be seen as an indicator of whether they were loyal to the UK, leading to accusations of racism. His Euroscepticism also caused him to be a thorn in the side of Mrs Thatcher's successor Sir John Major, whose Conservative leadership was marked by a series of battles over the issue.
Glasgow Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Tributes paid to Tory ‘titan' Norman Tebbit after his death aged 94
The Conservative grandee was one of Margaret Thatcher's closest political allies and played a key role in Tory politics for a generation. As employment secretary he took on the trade unions, and as chairman of the Conservative Party from 1985 to 1987 he helped Mrs Thatcher secure her third general election victory. He also served as trade secretary and had a reputation as a political bruiser. He suffered grave injuries in the 1984 Brighton bombing, which left his wife, Margaret, paralysed from the neck down. After the 1987 election success he left his post as Tory chairman to help care for Margaret, who died in 2020. He left the Commons in 1992 and became a member of the House of Lords. Lord Tebbit's son William said his father died 'peacefully at home' late on Monday night. Former prime minister Rishi Sunak said Lord Tebbit was a 'titan of Conservative politics' whose 'resilience, conviction and service left a lasting mark on our party and our country'. Conservative leader Mrs Badenoch said: 'Norman Tebbit was an icon in British politics and his death will cause sadness across the political spectrum. 'He was one of the leading exponents of the philosophy we now know as Thatcherism and his unstinting service in the pursuit of improving our country should be held up as an inspiration to all Conservatives.' She said the 'stoicism and courage' he showed following the Brighton bombing and the care he showed for his wife was a reminder that he was 'first and foremost a family man who always held true to his principles'. Mrs Badenoch said: 'He never buckled under pressure and he never compromised.' Lord Tebbit outside the Grand Hotel in Brighton, scene of the 1984 bombing (Chris Ison/PA) Lord Tebbit was a prominent figure in the Thatcher era who was unafraid of confrontation as he helped drive forward the sometimes divisive economic and social reforms that characterised the 1980s. Following inner city riots in Handsworth, Birmingham, and Brixton, south London, in 1981, he made comments which led to him being dubbed 'Onyerbike' by critics who felt he was a symbol of Conservative indifference to rising unemployment. Rejecting suggestions that street violence was a natural response to rising unemployment, he retorted: 'I grew up in the 30s with an unemployed father. He didn't riot. He got on his bike and looked for work, and he kept looking till he found it.' He was memorably described by Labour's Michael Foot as a 'semi-house-trained polecat' and was also nicknamed the 'Chingford skinhead' in reference to his Essex constituency, while his puppet on satirical show Spitting Image was a leather jacket-clad hardman – an image Lord Tebbit enjoyed because 'he was always a winner'. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and party chairman Norman Tebbit wave to the crowds from Conservative Central Office, Smith Square, after the 1987 election win (Rebecca Naden/PA) In 1990, in response to concerns over integration of migrants, he set out the 'cricket test', suggesting which side British Asians supported in internationals should be seen as an indicator of whether they were loyal to the UK, leading to accusations of racism. His Euroscepticism also caused him to be a thorn in the side of Mrs Thatcher's successor Sir John Major, whose Conservative leadership was marked by a series of battles over the issue.
