Nigel Lawson

[[File:Nigel Lawson 006.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Lawson, 26 October 2010.]]
{{UKpolitics}}
'''Nigel Lawson''' {{lived|1932|2023}} was a [[British]] [[Conservative]] politician and member of [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s cabinet.<ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/nigel-lawson/27077 Lord Lawson of Blaby]</ref><ref>[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Nigel_Lawson/ Sourcewatch Nigel Lawson]</ref> He held many posts including that of Secretary of State for Energy,<ref>[http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/faculty/newbery/files/istanbul.pdf Privatisation and Liberalisation of Network Utilities by David M Newbery]</ref> but his most notable appointment was the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 

After his glory days as 'the Chancellor' ended, Lawson became a political nobody, but he managed to shuffle himself back into political prominence by reinventing himself as a [[climate change denial]]ist. Though less ardent than the fruitloops and [[wingnut]]s of the [[denial]] movement (he stopped well short of claiming that climate change is a [[Global warming conspiracy theory|hoax or conspiracy]] to create a [[New World Order]]), Lawson did maintain that there had been no global warming for a decade, until record-breaking temperatures made that position untenable. His book ''A Cool Look at Global Warming''<ref group=note>Why do denialist screeds always have bad puns for titles?</ref> maintained that [[Global warming denialism#The denial staircase|there had been no warming; if there had been warming it had nothing to do with humans; if it did it wasn't a serious risk; and if it was there was nothing that could be done about it anyway]]. The book is also memorable for ''mocking'' the 40,000 victims of the {{wpl|2003 European heat wave}} by contrasting their unspeakable deaths in the hottest [[Europe]]an summer since at least 1540 with his own contemporaneous trip to the south of [[France]], ascribing their deaths to a "perfectly acceptable" experience which was, in his own words, "obviously a stretch for some."

Lawson's renewed visibility allowed him to him chair several important reviews and to launch his own [[think tank]], the [[Global Warming Policy Foundation]] (the British version of the [[Heartland Institute]]).<ref>[http://www.thegwpf.org/ The Global Warming Policy Foundation]</ref> As the foundation's ideal "policy" on global warming is to do nothing, this must surely count as either the most worthless think tank or the most mendacious. [[Oil|Unsurprisingly]], the source of the foundation's funding is kept secret, but by 31 July 2010 it had received £503,302, of which only £8,168 came from membership contributions. The foundation, often criticising scientists' "[[Climategate|secrecy]],"<ref>[http://www.thegwpf.org/uk-news/2960-climategate-as-usual-cru-a-russell-evade-foi-requests.html Some of the crap on his website]</ref> itself has declined four Freedom of Information requests to disclose its funding.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/22/chris-huhne-lawson-think-tank Chris Huhne blasts Lord Lawson's climate sceptic thinktank]</ref>

In addition to his work with the foundation, Lawson was a frequent critic of the cost of combating climate change,<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/6706761/Nigel-Lawson-on-climate-change-Saving-the-planet-will-be-the-real-disaster.html Nigel Lawson on climate change: 'Saving' the planet will be the real disaster]</ref> which is a bit of an [[irony]] since he was instrumental in the [[privatisation]] of UK energy utilities, the same utilities that are now levelling price rises (above [[inflation]]) on the consumer.<ref>[http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2011/10/the-cost-of-privatisation-is-clear-as-consumers-accuse-energy-providers-of-%E2%80%98extortion%E2%80%99 The cost of privatisation is clear as consumers accuse energy providers of ‘extortion’]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/sep/15/edf-energy-price-rise EDF announces energy price rise]</ref> Some of his critics argued that Britain's then-new North Sea oil revenues during his time as Chancellor were necessary to mask the deleterious impacts of his helping Thatcher sell off national assets at pennies on the pound.<ref>E.g., Adam Ramsay, [https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/nigel-lawson-legacy-big-oil-economic-boom-climate-lies/ Nigel Lawson’s economic ‘success’ was an oil-fuelled illusion], ''openDemocracy'', 4 April 2023</ref>

During the expenses scandal, it was revealed that Lawson managed to claim £16,000 in overnight allowances by registering his farmhouse in Gascony as his main residence.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/3815228/Lords-expenses-claims-top-18-million.html Daily Telegraph Lords' expenses claims top £18 million]</ref>

Hard as it is to believe looking at them both, he was the father of TV cook Nigella Lawson and was made Baron Lawson of Blaby in 1992. He also appeared in the "[[propaganda|documentary]]" ''[[The Great Global Warming Swindle]]''.

==Vote Leave… I'm leaving==
Lawson was the chair of the 2016 Vote Leave campaign that supported [[Brexit]]. [[Hypocrisy|Hypocritically]], he decided to apply for residency in France in 2018 before the UK had even completed Brexit negotiations.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/05/31/he-chaired-the-campaign-for-britain-to-leave-the-eu-now-hes-applying-for-residency-in-france/ He chaired the campaign for Britain to leave the E.U. Now he’s applying for residency in France.] by Siobhán O'Grady (May 31, 2018 at 5:19 PM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==Global Warming Policy Foundation==
The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) was founded in 2009 to combat what it called "extremely damaging and harmful" measures to tackle climate change.<ref>[https://www.desmog.com/global-warming-policy-foundation/ Global Warming Policy Foundation], DeSmog, accessed 3 November 2022</ref> Which means, pushing climate change skepticism.<ref name=indy20140930/>

As of 2022 its trustees are Jerome Booth (an economist), Peter Philip Edwards (a chemist), {{wpl|Fritz Vahrenholt}} (a [[Germany|German]] [[Political parties of Germany#Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]] politician), Terence Mordaunt (a British shipping magnate), [[Kathy Gyngell]] (founding editor of [[The Conservative Woman]]), Michael Joseph Kelly (a [[New Zealand]]–British physicist), and {{wpl|Graham Stringer}} (a [[Labour Party|Labour]] MP).<ref>[https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/4047036/trustees Global Warming Policy Foundation: Trustees], Register of Charities, Charity Commission for England and Wales, accessed 3 Nov 2022</ref>

In 2014, the Charity Commission for England and Wales found it had breached rules on impartiality, stating "taken as a whole, it was difficult not to form the conclusion that the publications and postings on the charity’s website promoted a particular position on global warming".<ref name=indy20140930>[https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/lord-lawson-and-his-climate-change-sceptics-broke-charity-bias-rules-9765908.html Lord Lawson and his climate change sceptics broke charity bias rules], ''The Independent'', 30 Sep 2014</ref> As a result of complaints, it established a separate campaigning wing, Net Zero Watch, to explicitly oppose measures to mitigate global warming.<ref name=guardian20221027/>

In 2022, ''The Guardian'' revealed some of its sources of funding, much of which was funnelled through a US offshoot, American Friends of the GWPF. This included $210,525 in 2018-2020 from the Sarah Scaife Foundation (which funds many right-wing causes such as [[Project for the New American Century]] and [[Reason Foundation]]); and $620,259 from the [[Koch Industries|Koch Brothers']] Donors Trust over 2016–2020. As a result, it was reported to charity regulators by the [[Green Party]] and [[Extinction Rebellion]], and later also by [[Liberal Democrats|Lib Dem]] and Labour MPs and the Good Law Project, all of whom suggested this proved it acted as a fossil fuel lobby group rather than a charity.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/04/climate-sceptic-thinktank-received-funding-from-fossil-fuel-interests Climate sceptic thinktank received funding from fossil fuel interests], ''The Guardian'', 4 May 2022</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/23/fossil-fuel-funded-thinktank-charity-commission-global-warming Climate sceptic thinktank reported to charity commission over fossil fuel interest funding], ''The Guardian'', 23 May 2022</ref><ref name=guardian20221027>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/27/strip-climate-sceptic-thinktank-of-charitable-status-mps-urge Strip climate sceptic thinktank of charitable status, MPs urge], The Guardian, 27 Oct 2022</ref><ref>{{wpa|Scaife Foundations}}</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2005/11/lawson-vs-the-ipcc/ RealClimate: Nigel Lawson vs the IPCC]

==Notes==
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==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Nigel}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:British people]]
[[Category:Former Members of Parliament (UK)]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Global warming denialists]]

Categories: Authors, British people, Former Members of Parliament (UK), Pseudoscience promoters, Global warming denialists