Nigel Lawson: former Conservative chancellor dies aged 91

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Tributes have poured in for the former Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson, who has died at the age of 91.

Lawson was the MP for the Blaby constituency from 1974 to 1992 and served in numerous cabinet positions in the government of Margaret Thatcher.

He became chancellor in 1983 and oversaw a period of economic growth known as the Lawson Boom before resigning in 1989 amid disagreements with Thatcher over policy.

He spent the next three years on the backbenches before being given a life peerage, and sat in the House of Lords until his retirement in January 2023. The other roles he occupied in government included energy secretary and financial secretary to the Treasury.

Paying tribute, Rishi Sunak tweeted a photo of himself in which a framed photo of Lawson can be seen on the wall behind him.

“One of the first things I did as chancellor was hang a picture of Nigel Lawson above my desk,” the prime minister wrote. “He was a transformational chancellor and an inspiration to me and many others. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”

Jeremy Hunt, the current chancellor, described Lawson as “a rarity amongst politicians, someone who transformed our thinking as well as transforming our economy”.

The former prime minister Boris Johnson described Lawson as a “giant” and an “original flame of free-market Conservatism”. “He was a tax-cutter and simplifier who helped transform the economic landscape and helped millions of British people achieve their dreams,” he wrote.

Lawson began his career as a journalist, working for the Financial Times and the Sunday Telegraph before becoming editor of the Spectator in 1966. He also wrote a widely praised book, The View from No 11, about his time as chancellor and the reasons for his resignation.

He remained active in politics throughout his later years, serving as president of pro-Brexit campaign group Conservatives for Britain and as chairman of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a thinktank promoting scepticism about climate change.

James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, said Lawson was a “true statesman” whose “contributions to this nation will not be forgotten”. The Conservative party chairman, Greg Hands, said Lawson would be “remembered for his clarity of thinking, commitment to free-market economics and willingness to challenge orthodoxies”.

Matthew d’Ancona, one of his successors as editor of the Spectator, said he was “probably the most consequential chancellor of the postwar period” as well as “engaging and kind in private conversation”.

His six children included celebrity cook Nigella Lawson, writer Dominic Lawson and Eastbourne College headteacher Tom Lawson.