Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, PC
(17 February 1929 – 4 March 1993) was a British Conservative Party
politician
and government minister.
, the son of the 3rd Viscount Ridley
and is the father of the eminent social worker Susanna Rickett,designer and writer Jessica Ridley and historian Jane Ridley, Professor of History at the University of Buckingham
. He is also the uncle of scientist, broadcaster and former Chairman of Northern Rock
, Matt Ridley
. Ridley was educated at Eton College
and Balliol College, Oxford
. His elder brother is the 4th Viscount Ridley
, KG
, GCVO
, TD
, a former Lord Steward of the Household.
During his Eton
days, Nicholas Ridley's fag
had been Tam Dalyell
, later Labour
MP for West Lothian
. After a meeting of strong words, Ridley was reported to say "he was my fag at Eton, I wish I had beaten him more!"
He became a civil engineer
and company director. He served as secretary of the Canning Club
, a councillor on Castle Ward Rural District
Council and a member of the executive committee of the National Trust
.
Ridley was a keen water colour artist, and photographer. He took the cover photograph for The Swinging Blue Jeans
' debut album, Blue Jeans A Swinging (1964). His brother, Walter J "Wally" Ridley, produced the band, and had signed them to HMV Records.
In 1990, asked to comment on the resignation of cabinet colleague Norman Fowler
who had given as the reason for his resignation the wish "to spend more time with my family", Ridley quipped dryly that the last thing he wanted to do was spend more time with his family.
On 28 July 1992, he was created a life peer
as Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, of Willimoteswick in the County of Northumberland
.
Ridley died of lung cancer
on 4 March 1993. During a media launch event for an anti-litter campaign with Margaret Thatcher, Ridley was seen during the whole event with a cigarette in his mouth. Ridley's puppet on Spitting Image
was always portrayed with a cigarette.
Although a chain smoker, as Secretary of State he usually sat at meetings with his back to an open window. His cigarette smoke was much less offensive to his civil servants than his predecessor's cigars.
, Ridley unsuccessfully contested the safe Labour
seat of Blyth. He was elected Member of Parliament
(MP) for Cirencester and Tewkesbury
at the 1959 election
.
He was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary
in 1962, and from 1964 he was a Select Committee member before joining the front bench.
He was a strong supporter in the Party of Margaret Thatcher
. In 1973, he formed the Selsdon Group
, which was opposed to the abandonment of the radical 1970 manifesto by Edward Heath
. He closed his keynote speech at the group's launch by citing the "Ten Cannots" of William J. H. Boetcker
, adding that they "could well become the guiding principle of the Selsdon Group". He wrongly attributed the quotation to Abraham Lincoln.'. The members of the group were seen as disloyal at the time but their ideas came to prominence in the Thatcher years.
, Ridley was appointed to the new Conservative government as Minister of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office responsible for the Falkand Islands. His first visit to the Islands was in July 1979, after which the Foreign Office considered the options, given that the idea of 'Fortress Falklands' was deemed unfeasible on the grounds of cost - Britain could not afford to maintain a sufficiently powerful military presence on the Islands to deter an invasion.
Instead, Nicholas Ridley was sent back to the Islands in November 1980 to try to persuade Islanders to accept a proposal for 'leaseback' whereby nominal sovereignty would be given to Argentina but British administration would be maintained for a fixed number of years until the final handover. Islanders were unconvinced and Parliament gave the proposals a hostile reception, pointing out that British peoples should not be handed over against their will to such an unsavoury regime as the Argentine junta. In the face of this opposition the Conservative government once again reiterated that the Islanders' wishes were 'paramount'.
In February 1981, with the support of the Islands' Councillors, the British government met Argentine representatives in New York but the British proposal for a sovereignty freeze was rejected by the junta. British intelligence reports continued to suggest that Argentina would invade the Islands only if it was convinced there was no prospect of eventual transfer of sovereignty.
Ridley advised that leaseback remained the only feasible solution and recommended that Britain initiate an education campaign to persuade Islanders, but this proposal was rejected by Lord Carrington who felt that any attempt to put pressure on Islanders would be counter-productive. However, the cumulative effect of stalled sovereignty negotiations, the British Nationality Act 1981 (which would deprive many Islanders of their rights as full British citizens), the announced withdrawal of HMS Endurance, the shelving of plans to rebuild the Royal Marine barracks at Moody Brook, and the proposed closure of the British Antarctic Survey base at Grytviken on South Georgia, was to convince Argentina that Britain had no future interest in the Islands. Argentina would go on to invade the islands in April 1982, sparking off the Falklands War
, but were repulsed in June of that year, with the islands remaining in British hands.
From 1981 to 1983 Ridley was the Financial Secretary to the Treasury
. After the 1983 election
, Ridley - always regarded by Margaret Thatcher as "one of us" - was a beneficiary of her move to cull the Tory wets
and joined her cabinet
as Secretary of State for Transport
. In that role he played a major part in making preparations for a possible coal strike
, which proved an important factor in deciding the outcome of the UK miners' strike (1984-1985). Ridley had long been acutely aware of the threat the trade unions could pose to the execution of Conservative policies and, in the wake of the Heath government's union difficulties, had authored the Ridley Plan
, which set out means of dealing with the trade unions and was a prototype for later developments. The Thatcher government attached considerable importance to being properly prepared for a major miners' strike and backed down from a confrontation with the miners in its first Parliament. By the time that the miners did strike, in March 1984, considerable efforts had been made in ensuring the availability of stockpiled coal at power station
s, non-unionised transport workers and oil-fired generation plant.
Never far from controversy, Ridley had to apologise, following the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise Channel ferry in 1987, for remarking that he would not be pursuing a particular policy "with the bow doors open". The ship had capsized, with loss of 193 lives, as a result of sailing with its bow doors open.
As Secretary of State for the Environment
from 1987 to 1989, he is credited with popularising the phrase NIMBY
or Not In My Back Yard to describe those who instinctively opposed any local building development. It was soon revealed that Ridley opposed a low cost housing development near a village where he owned a property. More importantly, he was the Cabinet Minister responsible for the introduction of the Community Charge
or poll tax, a policy that brought a standing ovation at the Conservative Party conference at which it was announced, and riots across the country
when it was implemented.
On 14 July 1990 he was forced to resign as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
after an interview published in The Spectator. He had described the proposed Economic and Monetary Union
as "a German racket designed to take over the whole of Europe" and said that giving up sovereignty
to Europe was as bad as giving it up to Adolf Hitler
. The interview was illustrated with a cartoon
depicting Ridley adding a Hitler moustache to a poster of the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
. While Ridley was not one of the most powerful government members, he was regarded as a Thatcherite loyalist and his departure was a significant break in their ranks. Margaret Thatcher herself had to resign four months later. Some commentators point to Ridley's resignation, its manner, and the European issue at its core, as leading indicators for the next decade of Conservative Party politics.
On 8 November 1991, Ridley advised people to vote for anti-European candidates regardless of their parties.
Despite being a free-marketeer, in January 1993 Ridley spoke out against railway privatisation, and when in government, advised Thatcher against doing so. The final speech he ever gave was an address against the Maastricht Treaty
on 17 February 1993 in the House of Lords
, which he had always vehemently opposed and voted against in 1991. In a Times article written days before his death, he suggested that the rich should be taxed more to help Britain out of the recession.
At the 1996 Nicholas Ridley Memorial Lecture, Lady Thatcher said of Ridley that "Free-market economics was always Nick's passion. And he had a longer, better pedigree in that respect than most Thatcherites—or indeed I may add—than Thatcher herself. His first vote against a Conservative Government bailing out nationalised industries was in 1961. To be so right, so early on, is not to have seen the light—it is to have lit it.... He would have been a superb Chancellor."
in the 2002 BBC
production of Ian Curteis
's The Falklands Play
.
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Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(17 February 1929 – 4 March 1993) was a British Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and government minister.
Personal life
Nicholas Ridley was the grandson of architect Sir Edwin LutyensEdwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
, the son of the 3rd Viscount Ridley
Viscount Ridley
Viscount Ridley is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1900 for the Conservative politician Sir Matthew White Ridley, 5th Baronet, Home Secretary from 1895 to 1900. He was made Baron Wensleydale, of Blagdon and Blyth in the County of Northumberland, at the same time,...
and is the father of the eminent social worker Susanna Rickett,designer and writer Jessica Ridley and historian Jane Ridley, Professor of History at the University of Buckingham
University of Buckingham
The University of Buckingham is an independent, non-sectarian, research and teaching university located in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Great Ouse. It was originally founded as Buckingham University College in the 1970s and received its Royal Charter from the...
. He is also the uncle of scientist, broadcaster and former Chairman of Northern Rock
Northern Rock
Northern Rock plc is a British bank, best known for becoming the first bank in 150 years to suffer a bank run after having had to approach the Bank of England for a loan facility, to replace money market funding, during the credit crisis in 2007. Having failed to find a commercial buyer for...
, Matt Ridley
Matt Ridley
Matthew White Ridley, FRSL, FMedSci is an English journalist, writer, biologist, and businessman.-Career:...
. Ridley was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. His elder brother is the 4th Viscount Ridley
Matthew Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley
Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley, is a British nobleman, who served for approximately a decade as Lord Steward of the Household....
, KG
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, GCVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, TD
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
, a former Lord Steward of the Household.
During his Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
days, Nicholas Ridley's fag
Fagging
Fagging was a traditional educational practice in British boarding private schools and also many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the most senior boys...
had been Tam Dalyell
Tam Dalyell
Sir Thomas Dalyell Loch, 11th Baronet , known as Tam Dalyell, is a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005, first for West Lothian and then for Linlithgow.-Early life:...
, later Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP for West Lothian
West Lothian
West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....
. After a meeting of strong words, Ridley was reported to say "he was my fag at Eton, I wish I had beaten him more!"
He became a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
and company director. He served as secretary of the Canning Club
Canning Club
The Canning Club is a gentlemen's club based in London, formerly named the Argentine Club, founded in 1911, and is for those with a particular link to, or special interest in, Latin American countries....
, a councillor on Castle Ward Rural District
Castle Ward Rural District
Castle Ward was a rural district of the administrative county of Northumberland, England from 1894 to 1974, covering an area north-west of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was named after the historic Castle ward of Northumberland...
Council and a member of the executive committee of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Ridley was a keen water colour artist, and photographer. He took the cover photograph for The Swinging Blue Jeans
The Swinging Blue Jeans
The Swinging Blue Jeans were a four piece 1960s British Merseybeat band, best known for their hit singles with the HMV label; "Hippy Hippy Shake", the follow-up, Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly", and "You're No Good", a Clint Ballard song that provided a change of pace and furnished the...
' debut album, Blue Jeans A Swinging (1964). His brother, Walter J "Wally" Ridley, produced the band, and had signed them to HMV Records.
In 1990, asked to comment on the resignation of cabinet colleague Norman Fowler
Norman Fowler
Norman Fowler, Baron Fowler, PC is a British Conservative politician who was from 1981 to 1990 a member of Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet.-Early life:...
who had given as the reason for his resignation the wish "to spend more time with my family", Ridley quipped dryly that the last thing he wanted to do was spend more time with his family.
On 28 July 1992, he was created a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, of Willimoteswick in the County of Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
.
Ridley died of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
on 4 March 1993. During a media launch event for an anti-litter campaign with Margaret Thatcher, Ridley was seen during the whole event with a cigarette in his mouth. Ridley's puppet on Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
was always portrayed with a cigarette.
Although a chain smoker, as Secretary of State he usually sat at meetings with his back to an open window. His cigarette smoke was much less offensive to his civil servants than his predecessor's cigars.
Member of Parliament
At the 1955 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1955
The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...
, Ridley unsuccessfully contested the safe Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
seat of Blyth. He was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Cirencester and Tewkesbury
Cirencester and Tewkesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Cirencester and Tewkesbury was a parliamentary constituency in Gloucestershire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
at the 1959 election
United Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
.
He was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
in 1962, and from 1964 he was a Select Committee member before joining the front bench.
He was a strong supporter in the Party of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. In 1973, he formed the Selsdon Group
Selsdon Group
The Selsdon Group is a British free-market economics pressure group, closely associated with the Conservative Party. Selsdon Group members believe that economic freedom is the indispensable condition for political and social freedom. The group's President is the Rt. Hon...
, which was opposed to the abandonment of the radical 1970 manifesto by Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
. He closed his keynote speech at the group's launch by citing the "Ten Cannots" of William J. H. Boetcker
William J. H. Boetcker
William John Henry Boetcker was an American religious leader and influential public speaker.Born in Hamburg, Germany, he was ordained a Presbyterian minister soon after his arrival in the United States as a young adult. Rev...
, adding that they "could well become the guiding principle of the Selsdon Group". He wrongly attributed the quotation to Abraham Lincoln.'. The members of the group were seen as disloyal at the time but their ideas came to prominence in the Thatcher years.
In government
When the Conservatives were returned to office at the 1979 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, Ridley was appointed to the new Conservative government as Minister of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office responsible for the Falkand Islands. His first visit to the Islands was in July 1979, after which the Foreign Office considered the options, given that the idea of 'Fortress Falklands' was deemed unfeasible on the grounds of cost - Britain could not afford to maintain a sufficiently powerful military presence on the Islands to deter an invasion.
Instead, Nicholas Ridley was sent back to the Islands in November 1980 to try to persuade Islanders to accept a proposal for 'leaseback' whereby nominal sovereignty would be given to Argentina but British administration would be maintained for a fixed number of years until the final handover. Islanders were unconvinced and Parliament gave the proposals a hostile reception, pointing out that British peoples should not be handed over against their will to such an unsavoury regime as the Argentine junta. In the face of this opposition the Conservative government once again reiterated that the Islanders' wishes were 'paramount'.
In February 1981, with the support of the Islands' Councillors, the British government met Argentine representatives in New York but the British proposal for a sovereignty freeze was rejected by the junta. British intelligence reports continued to suggest that Argentina would invade the Islands only if it was convinced there was no prospect of eventual transfer of sovereignty.
Ridley advised that leaseback remained the only feasible solution and recommended that Britain initiate an education campaign to persuade Islanders, but this proposal was rejected by Lord Carrington who felt that any attempt to put pressure on Islanders would be counter-productive. However, the cumulative effect of stalled sovereignty negotiations, the British Nationality Act 1981 (which would deprive many Islanders of their rights as full British citizens), the announced withdrawal of HMS Endurance, the shelving of plans to rebuild the Royal Marine barracks at Moody Brook, and the proposed closure of the British Antarctic Survey base at Grytviken on South Georgia, was to convince Argentina that Britain had no future interest in the Islands. Argentina would go on to invade the islands in April 1982, sparking off the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, but were repulsed in June of that year, with the islands remaining in British hands.
From 1981 to 1983 Ridley was the Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...
. After the 1983 election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
, Ridley - always regarded by Margaret Thatcher as "one of us" - was a beneficiary of her move to cull the Tory wets
Wets
During the 1980s, members of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom who opposed some of the more hard-line policies of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were often referred to as "wets"...
and joined her cabinet
Thatcher Ministry
Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 4 May 1979 and 28 November 1990, during which time she led a Conservative government. She was the first woman to hold that office...
as Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
. In that role he played a major part in making preparations for a possible coal strike
UK miners' strike (1984–1985)
The UK miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting the British coal industry. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the British trades union movement...
, which proved an important factor in deciding the outcome of the UK miners' strike (1984-1985). Ridley had long been acutely aware of the threat the trade unions could pose to the execution of Conservative policies and, in the wake of the Heath government's union difficulties, had authored the Ridley Plan
Ridley Plan
The Ridley Plan was a 1974 report on the nationalised industries in the UK. The report was produced in the aftermath of the Heath government being brought down by the 1974 coal strike....
, which set out means of dealing with the trade unions and was a prototype for later developments. The Thatcher government attached considerable importance to being properly prepared for a major miners' strike and backed down from a confrontation with the miners in its first Parliament. By the time that the miners did strike, in March 1984, considerable efforts had been made in ensuring the availability of stockpiled coal at power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s, non-unionised transport workers and oil-fired generation plant.
Never far from controversy, Ridley had to apologise, following the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise Channel ferry in 1987, for remarking that he would not be pursuing a particular policy "with the bow doors open". The ship had capsized, with loss of 193 lives, as a result of sailing with its bow doors open.
As Secretary of State for the Environment
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
from 1987 to 1989, he is credited with popularising the phrase NIMBY
NIMBY
NIMBY or Nimby is an acronym for the phrase "not in my back yard". The term is used pejoratively to describe opposition by residents to a proposal for a new development close to them. Opposing residents themselves are sometimes called Nimbies...
or Not In My Back Yard to describe those who instinctively opposed any local building development. It was soon revealed that Ridley opposed a low cost housing development near a village where he owned a property. More importantly, he was the Cabinet Minister responsible for the introduction of the Community Charge
Community Charge
The Community Charge, popularly known as the "poll tax", was a system of taxation introduced in replacement of the rates to part fund local government in Scotland from 1989, and England and Wales from 1990. It provided for a single flat-rate per-capita tax on every adult, at a rate set by the...
or poll tax, a policy that brought a standing ovation at the Conservative Party conference at which it was announced, and riots across the country
Poll Tax Riots
The UK Poll Tax Riots were a series of mass disturbances, or riots, in British towns and cities during protests against the Community Charge , introduced by the Conservative government led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher...
when it was implemented.
On 14 July 1990 he was forced to resign as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills is a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. Its secondary title is the President of the Board of Trade...
after an interview published in The Spectator. He had described the proposed Economic and Monetary Union
Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union
The Economic and Monetary Union is an umbrella term for the group of policies aimed at converging the economies of members of the European Union in three stages so as to allow them to adopt a single currency, the euro. As such, it is largely synonymous with the eurozone.All member states of the...
as "a German racket designed to take over the whole of Europe" and said that giving up sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
to Europe was as bad as giving it up to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. The interview was illustrated with a cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
depicting Ridley adding a Hitler moustache to a poster of the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
. While Ridley was not one of the most powerful government members, he was regarded as a Thatcherite loyalist and his departure was a significant break in their ranks. Margaret Thatcher herself had to resign four months later. Some commentators point to Ridley's resignation, its manner, and the European issue at its core, as leading indicators for the next decade of Conservative Party politics.
On 8 November 1991, Ridley advised people to vote for anti-European candidates regardless of their parties.
Despite being a free-marketeer, in January 1993 Ridley spoke out against railway privatisation, and when in government, advised Thatcher against doing so. The final speech he ever gave was an address against the Maastricht Treaty
Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
on 17 February 1993 in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, which he had always vehemently opposed and voted against in 1991. In a Times article written days before his death, he suggested that the rich should be taxed more to help Britain out of the recession.
At the 1996 Nicholas Ridley Memorial Lecture, Lady Thatcher said of Ridley that "Free-market economics was always Nick's passion. And he had a longer, better pedigree in that respect than most Thatcherites—or indeed I may add—than Thatcher herself. His first vote against a Conservative Government bailing out nationalised industries was in 1961. To be so right, so early on, is not to have seen the light—it is to have lit it.... He would have been a superb Chancellor."
In popular culture
Ridley was portrayed by Michael CochraneMichael Cochrane
Michael Cochrane is an English actor who specialises in playing upper class characters, sometimes with a suaveness that hides their villainy....
in the 2002 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production of Ian Curteis
Ian Curteis
Ian Bayley Curteis is a British television dramatist and former television director.In a career as a television dramatist from the late 1960s onwards, Curteis wrote for many of the series of the day, including The Onedin Line and Crown Court. In 1979, two television plays by Curteis were...
's The Falklands Play
The Falklands Play
The Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of...
.
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