Gradual and moderate warming brings benefits as well as incurring costs. These benefits and costs will not, of course, be felt uniformly throughout the world; the colder regions of the world will be more affected by the benefits, and the hotter regions by the costs.

Nigel Lawson

It is quite clear that history will record that Margaret Thatcher was the greatest Prime Minister this country has had since Churchill.

Nigel Lawson

prime records country

Not only is the Kyoto approach to global warming wrong-headed, the climate change establishment's suppression of dissent and criticism is little short of a scandal. The IPCC should be shut down.

Nigel Lawson

kyoto climate criticism

We already have a sabbatical system. It's called opposition, and I've had enough of it.

Nigel Lawson

sabbatical had-enough parliament

The spread of personal ownership is in harmony with the deepest instincts of the British people. Few changes have done more to create one nation.

Nigel Lawson

harmony done people

Hopelessly uneconomic on any substantial scale, since it requires a conventional power back-up for when the wind stops blowing, forests of wind turbines are rightly regarded in most countries as an environmental monstrosity.

Nigel Lawson

environmental wind country

There has always been, and there always will be, an economic cycle.

Nigel Lawson

cycles economic economics

I was frequently embarrassed by the way Margaret conducted herself within the European Community. Her tactics were counter-productive and damaging to the UK's interests. On most issues her approach was foolish. Her style and tone of voice came to irk the others so much that they instinctively sank their differences and joined forces against her.

Nigel Lawson

issues differences voice

I think that the ordinary bloke has an instinctive sense that it wouldn't be too bad if the weather warmed up.

Nigel Lawson

ordinary weather thinking

The fears of recession in the aftermath of Black Monday have turned to fears of the economy racing ahead too fast, with inflation edging up and a substantial current account deficit... People understandably feel more confident about their future than they've done for decades, but as a result they have been borrowing more and saving less... Coming on top of a massive income investment boom, it's all been just a bit too much of a good thing.

Nigel Lawson

black monday people

During the 1960s, and again in the 1970s, growth in manufacturing productivity in the United Kingdom was the lowest of all the seven major industrial countries in the world. During the 1980s, our annual rate of growth of output per head in manufacturing has been the highest of all the seven major industrial countries.

Nigel Lawson

growth country world

The successful sale of British Telecom... reveals a vast and untapped yearning among ordinary people for a direct stake in the ownership of British enterprise. Investment in shares has begun to take its place, with ownership of a home and either a bank or building society deposit, as a way for ordinary people to participate in enterprise and wealth creation. We are seeing the birth of people's capitalism.

Nigel Lawson

successful home people

In Europe, where climate change absolutism is at its strongest, the quasi-religion of greenery in general and the climate change issue in particular have filled the vacuum of organised religion, with reasoned questioning of its mantras regarded as a form of blasphemy.

Nigel Lawson

issues climate europe

If I really believed in Friedman's economic theory, then I'd be quite satisfied to spend the rest of my life with a garden hose shoved down my throat, being filled with custard by representatives of the people of China.

Nigel Lawson

economic garden people

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.

Nigel Lawson

cutting two hands

To govern is to choose. To appear to be unable to choose is to appear to be unable to govern.

Nigel Lawson

government

She felt Britain should not be so dependent on coal. She was in favour of building up nuclear energy to break the dependence on coal, and the main opposition to nuclear came from the environment movement. Mrs. Thatcher thought she could trap them with the carbon emissions argument.

Nigel Lawson

thought argument building energy

The NHS is the closest thing the English have to a religion.

Nigel Lawson

nhs english thing religion

As the resignation letter which I wrote to the Prime Minister clearly implies, it was not the outcome I sought, but it is one that I accept without rancour, despite what might be described as the hard landing involved.

Nigel Lawson

without accept resignation hard

However useful computer models may be, the one thing they cannot be is evidence. Computer climate models are simply conjectures.

Nigel Lawson

cannot evidence one-thing climate

If you punish the banks, all you are doing is reducing the banks' capital, which you want to increase, and punishing shareholders, who have done nothing wrong.

Nigel Lawson

nothing doing you done