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(As well as providing a fascinating insight into his early life in a working-class suburb of North London and his former career as an airline pilot, Tebbit also gives a definitive account of the vital role he played in Mrs Thatcher's government with his tough trade union reforms and his masterminding of the Conservatives' 1987 General Election campaign. His reputation as 'the best body-puncher in British Politics' is confirmed)
208 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1988
About the author
Norman Tebbit
13 books2 followersNorman Beresford Tebbit was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1983), Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1983–1985), and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chairman of the Conservative Party (1985–1987). He was a member of Parliament (MP) from 1970 to 1992, representing the constituencies of Epping (1970–1974) and Chingford (1974–1992).
In 1984, Tebbit was injured in the bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton, where he was staying during the Conservative Party Conference, by the Provisional IRA. His wife Margaret was left permanently disabled after the explosion. He left the Cabinet following the 1987 general election to care for his wife.
Tebbit considered standing for the Conservative leadership following Thatcher's resignation in 1990 but decided not to as he had earlier made a commitment to his wife to retire from front-line politics. He did not seek re-election as MP for Chingford in 1992 and was given a life peerage as Baron Tebbit, of Chingford. He retired from the House of Lords in 2022.
In 1984, Tebbit was injured in the bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton, where he was staying during the Conservative Party Conference, by the Provisional IRA. His wife Margaret was left permanently disabled after the explosion. He left the Cabinet following the 1987 general election to care for his wife.
Tebbit considered standing for the Conservative leadership following Thatcher's resignation in 1990 but decided not to as he had earlier made a commitment to his wife to retire from front-line politics. He did not seek re-election as MP for Chingford in 1992 and was given a life peerage as Baron Tebbit, of Chingford. He retired from the House of Lords in 2022.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 26, 2019
One of the things about political memoirs which can be a bit dull is the early childhood and family history of the MP in question. In this case, I actually found it interesting to find out about his difficult upbringing, his Air Force training and career as a commercial pilot with BOAC. He also gives details about his wife's battles with post natal depression which led to other mental health breakdowns, a subject I can relate to. One thing that shines through in this book is the utter love and adoration that Norman has for Margaret. You can feel his utter despair as he tries to get her the medical help she needs. I also found it interesting to read about their financial struggle when Norman has to give up his pilot career for his political career and now much MPs struggled to make ends meet in the 70's and 80's, unlike the gravy train that appears to be in operation now.
I always enjoy reading about how the political career developed, from hopeful candidate to first electoral victory, becoming a backbencher as opposition and then government, being picked to be a Minister and which departments they worked in. I like seeing who they liked, who they fought with, and seeing the political events of the day from their perspective which can often be different from your own. In this case I got a good insight into the Thatcher government and giving council tenants the right to buy their home. There was the trade union battles with Labour and Conservative governments, the fall of Heath and the rise of Thatcher, the miners strikes, the Falklands War, the Cecil Parkinson affair, the devolution campaigns, the General elections of 1979, 1983 amd 1987. Tebbit is brutal in his opinions of fellow MPs and union officials. I was also interested in the departments he worked in and the legislation he brought in ie YTS, the 1982 Employment Act, stopping the unions from keeping people out of jobs unless they joined the union etc.
However, it was the section dealing with the Brighton Bombing that was most shocking. For those unaware, in 1984 IRA terrorists tried to blow up the hotel that was hosting the Conservative Party Conference, killing five people and injuring dozens, in a failed attempt to kill Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. I remember vividly watching as Tebbit and his wife were dug out of the rubble. Tebbit had injuries that included skin ripped off shoulder to ankle on his left side, gaping wound over left hip and abdomon exposing pelvic bone which had been partially sliced off, severed nerve, countless broken bones. His wife was paralysed permanantly, the poor woman. His description of the bomb, the aftermath and the hospital treatment was shocking. Basically it did bring his career to a premature end. Overall I really enjoyed reading this memoir.
I always enjoy reading about how the political career developed, from hopeful candidate to first electoral victory, becoming a backbencher as opposition and then government, being picked to be a Minister and which departments they worked in. I like seeing who they liked, who they fought with, and seeing the political events of the day from their perspective which can often be different from your own. In this case I got a good insight into the Thatcher government and giving council tenants the right to buy their home. There was the trade union battles with Labour and Conservative governments, the fall of Heath and the rise of Thatcher, the miners strikes, the Falklands War, the Cecil Parkinson affair, the devolution campaigns, the General elections of 1979, 1983 amd 1987. Tebbit is brutal in his opinions of fellow MPs and union officials. I was also interested in the departments he worked in and the legislation he brought in ie YTS, the 1982 Employment Act, stopping the unions from keeping people out of jobs unless they joined the union etc.
However, it was the section dealing with the Brighton Bombing that was most shocking. For those unaware, in 1984 IRA terrorists tried to blow up the hotel that was hosting the Conservative Party Conference, killing five people and injuring dozens, in a failed attempt to kill Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. I remember vividly watching as Tebbit and his wife were dug out of the rubble. Tebbit had injuries that included skin ripped off shoulder to ankle on his left side, gaping wound over left hip and abdomon exposing pelvic bone which had been partially sliced off, severed nerve, countless broken bones. His wife was paralysed permanantly, the poor woman. His description of the bomb, the aftermath and the hospital treatment was shocking. Basically it did bring his career to a premature end. Overall I really enjoyed reading this memoir.
June 20, 2025
Forty years is a long time in politics...
NT was always a 'marmite' figure - you either applauded him or you loathed him. I'm not saying which side of the fence I took
This is not an easy read. In the same uncompromising way that he approached everything, in his writing he tends to go with long, tortuous sentences and it is easy to lose the sense of what is being said. However, give the guy his due, he attained far more of his goals than most other people could ever hope to do. He comes across as someone who sees a reinforced brick wall as a challenge, not an obstacle and goes about finding the most workable solution to get to the other side
There are many reference points here for those of us of a certain age (i.e. old enough to have lived through at least the second half of the period covered in this book - the Winter of Discontent, the Falklands etc etc) and it is fascinating to see how the events unravelled from the inside. He deals admirably dispassionately with the Brighton bomb and its catastrophic effects on his family
But...
It is difficult to find the human being behind the words. Among the long sentences there is something almost robotic in the narrative.
A good resource for those seeking the history of the period but not a quick read by any means
NT was always a 'marmite' figure - you either applauded him or you loathed him. I'm not saying which side of the fence I took
This is not an easy read. In the same uncompromising way that he approached everything, in his writing he tends to go with long, tortuous sentences and it is easy to lose the sense of what is being said. However, give the guy his due, he attained far more of his goals than most other people could ever hope to do. He comes across as someone who sees a reinforced brick wall as a challenge, not an obstacle and goes about finding the most workable solution to get to the other side
There are many reference points here for those of us of a certain age (i.e. old enough to have lived through at least the second half of the period covered in this book - the Winter of Discontent, the Falklands etc etc) and it is fascinating to see how the events unravelled from the inside. He deals admirably dispassionately with the Brighton bomb and its catastrophic effects on his family
But...
It is difficult to find the human being behind the words. Among the long sentences there is something almost robotic in the narrative.
A good resource for those seeking the history of the period but not a quick read by any means
June 27, 2020
Self righteous ravings of a bigot
January 7, 2025
I really enjoyed his explanation about how some of the politics at Westminster worked.
The book started slowly but I found it interesting what it was like growing up when London was at war.
I learnt a lot about how constituency boundaries are decided and found his take on the characters in power with him interesting. It made me realise that at any one time there really are only a few people with an awful lot of power.
The rough and tumble in the House of Commons was a bit of an eye opener.
I found the whole Brighton bomb tale very sobering and feel he and his wife were really very brave dealing with the dreadful injuries they received.
The book started slowly but I found it interesting what it was like growing up when London was at war.
I learnt a lot about how constituency boundaries are decided and found his take on the characters in power with him interesting. It made me realise that at any one time there really are only a few people with an awful lot of power.
The rough and tumble in the House of Commons was a bit of an eye opener.
I found the whole Brighton bomb tale very sobering and feel he and his wife were really very brave dealing with the dreadful injuries they received.
August 18, 2015
Fascinating stuff. I lived through Tebbit's political career, but had forgotten a lot of the detail he mentions here. I'd forgotten several cabinet ministers that he talks about. And, of course, a lot of the behind the scenes stuff was not public at the time. His career was sadly cut short by the IRA, and this book was written at that point. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews