...it is already clear that the policies that we have been pursuing have brought about a profound cultural change in this country. That, indeed, is w… - Nigel Lawson

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...it is already clear that the policies that we have been pursuing have brought about a profound cultural change in this country. That, indeed, is what it is all about. For that cultural change is the only route to the economic success that we all wish to see, and which is no longer promise but reality. No longer do people accept that economic policy should be about regulating everyone's lives and imposing penal tax rates, in the illusion that that will benefit those on lower incomes. Instead, it is now widely recognised except on the Opposition Benches that one cannot make the poor rich by making the rich poor and that there are enormous benefits in getting the state off people's backs, in transferring decision-making from the state to the people. And it is now abundantly clear that giving greater freedom and greater incentives has removed the shackles that have held back Britain for so many years and has liberated a great surge in enterprise.

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About Nigel Lawson

Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby PC (11 March 1932 – 3 April 2023) was a British politician. Originally a financial journalist, he was editor of The Spectator from 1966 to 1970. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer between June 1983 and October 1989 during the government of Margaret Thatcher and oversaw a sizable reduction in taxes as well as the privatization of many state-owned companies. He fell out with Mrs Thatcher over the issue of European monetary co-operation and resigned suddenly over her having supplanted him with one of her own advisers.

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby Lord Lawson
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Additional quotes by Nigel Lawson

The acid test of monetary policy is its record in reducing inflation. Those who wish to join the debate about the intricacies of different measures of money and the implications they may have for the future are welcome to do so. But at the end of the day the position is clear and unambiguous. The inflation rate is judge and jury.

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Nothing could be further from the truth than the claim that we have a choice between cutting tax and cutting unemployment, for the two go hand in hand. It is no accident that the two most successful economies in the world, both overall and specifically in terms of job creation—those of the United States and Japan—have the lowest level of tax as a proportion of GDP. Reductions in taxation motivate new businesses and improve incentives at work. They are a principal engine of the enterprise culture, on which our future prosperity and employment opportunities depend.

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