Nigel Lawson, Lord Lawson of Blaby, became a Conservative MP in 1974, after a number of years in journalism, including as Editor of The Spectator from 1966 to 1970. He served in the Thatcher government from 1979 to 1989 as Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Secretary of State for Energy, and, from 1983, Chancellor of the Exchequer. He entered the House of Lords in 1992, and is a member of the Lords' Select Committee on Economic Affairs, which in 2005 produced a substantial report on 'The Economics of Climate Change'. He is past President of the British Institute of Energy Economics. He lives in London and France.
