Norman Lamont

Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick ( born May 8, 1942 in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland ) is a British politician of the Conservative Party.

Biography

Lamont began his political career in 1972 with the election of the Members of the House of Commons, in which he acted as a member of the Conservative Party, the interests of the constituency of London Suburb of Kingston -upon -Thames. In 1975 he was one of the few Conservative MP who supported Margaret Thatcher publicly as a candidate for the office of Chairman of the Conservative Party.

In recognition of this, they appointed him to so-called "Junior Posts ", first in their shadow cabinet and later in their government after she was Prime Minister in 1979. In 1986 he was appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury ( Financial Secretary to the Treasury ), thus taking a third place in the Treasury. He was appointed by Thatcher to the Chief Secretary ( Chief Secretary ) of the Treasury in 1989. As such, he was so after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, not only in the second place of the ministry, but was at the same time the Cabinet on. During the last year of Margaret Thatcher's tenure, he was thus closest assistant of Chancellor of the Exchequer John Major.

Therefore, only a few were surprised that Major 1990 Lamont for manager for his successful five-day election campaign chose for the post of chairman of the Conservative and then gave him on 28 November 1990 with the main office in the Cabinet, the Office of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. With the introduction of its first annual government budget in March 1991, he showed boldness with his decision, the VAT (Value -Added Tax) of 15 to increase to 17.5 per cent, to thereby form the basis for reducing the so-called head tax ( Poll Tax ) of 140 create sterling per person. This step, combined with the government's decision in 1993 to abolish the poll tax altogether, the crisis helped to quit because of the disastrous decisions of the Thatcher government. In 1993, he Kenneth Clarke as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

During the sterling crisis ( "Black Wednesday" ) dated 16 September 1992, which the British from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism ( = European Exchange Rate Mechanism, ERM) operation, Lamont was Chancellor of the Exchequer David Cameron and his advisor. The European Monetary System ready for the common European currency ( later called Euro ) before.

In the 1997 General Election Lamont lost his seat after 25 years. 1998 Queen Elizabeth II appointed him as Baron Lamont of Lerwick in the peerage (Life Peerage ).