Enoch Powell famously said all political careers end in failure and that was certainly true of Nigel Lawson, whose death at 91 was announced on Monday. His six-year spell at the Treasury ended with the economy stricken by a classic British boom-bust cycle, which left unemployment at more than 3 million and record number of home repossessions.
That said, only a handful of chancellors have a lasting legacy when they leave office, and Lawson was one of them. Like Gordon Brown – another of the rare breed of politicians who made a difference – he had a clear idea of what he thought needed to be done to make the economy work more effectively and pursued his goals in a single-minded fashion.
