NIGEL LAWSON, Thatcher’s chancellor from 1983-89, has died aged 91, prompting tributes from Tories while leftwingers pointed to a grim economic legacy.

Tory grandees, including former prime minister Sir John Major, have lined up to pay their respects to Baron Lawson of Blaby.

Sir John described him as “one of the essential pillars of the 1980s Conservative government” while former Tory Party leader Lord William Hague said he changed politics — but the left have argued in all the wrong ways.

Progressive Economy Forum director James Meadway said: “Nigel Lawson’s legacy is very much still with us. 

“It was Lawson as chancellor who used the windfall of North Sea oil to pay for tax cuts for the richest.

“And it was Lawson who pushed through deregulation of financial services in the City of London — both key moments in establishing neoliberalism in Britain today.

“Lawson’s reckless policies led quickly to recession at the time, to soaring inequality, and ultimately helped make the 2008 global crash an epochal crisis for Britain. 

“If we want a fairer society in this country, it will mean undoing his baleful handiwork, step by step.”