Conservative grandee,<\/a> who served as employment secretary and Conservative Party chairman in the 1980s, played a key role in Tory politics for a generation and would remain one of the biggest influences on the right wing until his latter years. <\/p>\nAs employment secretary, he took on the trade unions and told Britain\u2019s 3 million unemployed to \u201cget on your bike\u201d to find a job. As Tory chairman from 1985 to 1987, he helped Mrs Thatcher secure her third general election victory.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/p>\n
Tributes poured in following the news of Norman Tebbit\u2019s death (Getty)<\/p>\n
A loyalist to Thatcher from 1975 when he was part of the team of right-wing Tory MPs who masterminded her surprise leadership victory, Lord Tebbit would earn the nickname the \u201cChingford Skinhead\u201d for being one of the hardest Thatcherites in her cabinet.<\/p>\n
The Tory grandee was one of the few to relish his Spitting Image puppet, claiming that it helped model his public persona as \u201cThatcher\u2019s enforcer\u201d.<\/p>\n
He suffered grave injuries in the IRA\u2019s bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton in 1984, which left his wife, Margaret, paralysed from the neck down.<\/p>\n
But the harder side of him was evident in 1990 when he coined the infamous \u201ccricket test\u201d on whether immigrants supported England at the sport as a guide to whether they were really British.<\/p>\n
He always maintained that Tory MPs had betrayed Mrs Thatcher when she was ousted in 1990 and carried an enmity with Lord Michael Heseltine, whose leadership challenge would force her out, for the rest of his life. The two would later play roles on opposite sides in the Brexit debate.<\/p>\n
![\"Tebbit](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-105769739.jpeg\")
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open image in gallery<\/p>\n
Tebbit was known as Margaret Thatcher\u2019s \u2018enforcer\u2019 throughout her time in No 10 (Getty)<\/p>\n
Tributes poured in following the news of his death, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch saying he \u201cwas an icon in British politics and his death will cause sadness across the political spectrum\u201d. <\/p>\n
Former Tory cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke described Lord Tebbit as a \u201cpolitical giant\u201d who was \u201ccombative with his opponents, fiercely loyal to his friends, somebody who would never accept Britain in decline\u201d. <\/p>\n
Lord Tebbit stepped down as an MP in 1992, replaced by former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, and was then given a seat in the House of Lords. <\/p>\n
He died peacefully in his home in Bury St Edmunds at 11.15pm on Monday, after having retired from politics three years ago. <\/p>\n
He was latterly remembered as one of the most prominent supporters of leaving the EU and advocated for Brexit in the run-up to the 2016 referendum and beyond.<\/p>\n
Leading the tributes, Ms Badenoch described Lord Tebbit as an \u201cicon\u201d of the party.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cOur Conservative family mourns the loss of Lord Tebbit today and I send my sincerest condolences to his loved ones. Norman Tebbit was an icon in British politics and his death will cause sadness across the political spectrum. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe 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. As a minister in Mrs Thatcher\u2019s administration, he was one of the main agents of the transformation of our country, notably in taming the trade unions.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she noted that it was his \u201cstoicism and courage in the face of terrorism\u201d following the IRA bomb in 1984 \u201cwhich inspired us\u201d. <\/p>\n
Sir Keir Starmer also issued a statement, with his official spokesperson saying his \u201cthoughts are with Norman Tebbit\u2019s children and family at this difficult time\u201d and describing him as a \u201cmajor figure in politics during the 1980s\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cMany will remember the great strength he showed in the face of the atrocious IRA bombing at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, and the courage that he and his wife showed in its aftermath. He will be missed by many\u201d, the spokesperson added. <\/p>\n
Paying tribute to the former Tory cabinet minister, who campaigned against integration with Europe, Eurosceptic think tank the Bruges Group said: \u201cToday we mourn the loss of a political titan without whom the Thatcher revolution may have looked very different. <\/p>\n
\u201cA passionate Eurosceptic, Lord Tebbit also served as president of the Bruges Group, leading our years-long campaign against EU integration.\u201d <\/p>\n
His former chief of staff Lord Michael Dobbs, author of the political thriller novel House of Cards, told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme: \u201cPolitics misses people of that sort of character who believe so deeply in what they are pursuing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ex-minister Sir Conor Burns, who worked for Margaret Thatcher, said: \u201cI was fortunate to count him as a friend. Norman was a true Thatcherite revolutionary. Lady T always acknowledged his importance to her success. He was always candid, direct and shrewd. Sometimes his honesty made others uncomfortable which he relished! Norman said what many thought but didn\u2019t have the courage to say. His was a genuine journey of social mobility based on talent \u2013 made in harder times when the rise of a white working-class man of talent was admired.\u201d <\/p>\n
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith added: \u201cSad to learn of the death of Lord Tebbit, a great Conservative whose values Britain could use a great deal more of today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Long after retirement, Lord Tebbit remained a supporter of right-wing causes, including becoming honorary president of the Bow Group think tank. He would be a regular speaker at meetings of the European Research Group (ERG) of Tory Brexiteer parliamentarians.<\/p>\n
Former cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi said: \u201cNorman Tebbit was a giant of Conservative politics and Conservative ideals. A man who looked after his beloved wife beautifully after the horrific terror attack by the IRA. A man who nurtured and befriended young Conservatives like me. He was great company on a weekend in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226],"tags":[802,748,2000,299,5187,1699,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-248534","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brexit","8":"tag-brexit","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european","13":"tag-european-union","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114818769745618591","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}