Norman Tebbit, the eurosceptic former cabinet minister known as one of Margaret Thatcher’s most loyal supporters, has died aged 94.
The Conservative grandee, who served as employment secretary and Conservative Party chairman in the 1980s, played a key role in Tory politics for a generation.
As employment secretary he took on the trade unions infamously telling Britain’s 3 million unemployed to “get on your bike”, and as chairman of the Conservative Party from 1985 to 1987 he helped Mrs Thatcher secure her third general election victory.
A loyalist to Thatcher from 1975 when he was part of the team of rightwing Tory MPs who masterminded her surprise leadership victory, Lord Tebbit would earn the nickname “Chingford skinhead” for being one of the hardest Thatcherites in her cabinet.
He suffered grave injuries in the IRA’s bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton in 1984, which left his wife, Margaret, paralysed from the neck down, with both narrowly surviving the terrorist atrocity.
Tributes poured in following the news of his death, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch saying he “was an icon in British politics and his death will cause sadness across the political spectrum”.
Meanwhile, former Tory Cabinet minister Simon Clarke described Lord Tebbit as a “political giant” who was “combative with his opponents, fiercely loyal to his friends, somebody who would never accept Britain in decline”.
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.
He died peacefully in his home in Bury St Edmunds at 11.15pm on Monday, after having retired from politics three years ago.
He was latterly remembered as one of the most prominent supporters of leaving the EU and advocates for Brexit in the run up to the 2016 referendum and beyond.
Paying tribute to the former Tory Cabinet minister, who campaigned against integration with Europe, Eurosceptic think tank the Bruges Group said: “Today we mourn the loss of a political titan without whom the Thatcher revolution may have looked very different.
“A passionate Eurosceptic, Lord Tebbit also served as President of the Bruges Group, leading our years-long campaign against EU integration.”
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith added: “Sad to learn of the death of Lord Tebbit, a great Conservative whose values Britain could use a great deal more of today.”
Former Tory cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke noted: “Norman Tebbit was a political giant: combative with his opponents, fiercely loyal to his friends, somebody who would never accept Britain in decline.”
