The tragedy at the heart of Norman Tebbit’s political career was that, although he personally exemplified the way in which the Conservative party had changed in his lifetime, and articulated the views of an aspirant working class in a way that could have made him a natural heir to Margaret Thatcher, circumstances dictated that he should never become party leader. He did not even stand in the election to succeed Thatcher in 1990.
Lord Tebbit, who has died aged 94, made a typically political calculation in deciding not to enter that contest when Thatcher withdrew in the second round, believing that if he did so he would split the rightwing vote that would otherwise go to John Major, and would thus allow Michael Heseltine to win. But his judgment was also informed by the second tragedy at the centre of his personal life.
