Norman Tebbit who has died aged 94, was a highly effective minister for Margaret Thatcher, regarded as a political bruiser and parliamentary thug and was once famously described by Michael Foot as a “semi-housetrained polecat”. He turned out to be a politician of substance, grudgingly admired even by those on the left.
Born on 29 March 1931 into the Depression in London in a lower-middle class family, his father lost his job which gave rise to Tebbit’s oft quoted words, to “get on his bike and look for work”.
His career was cut short by the IRA’s bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the party’s 1984 conference. He was severely injured and his wife Margaret – for whom he cared devotedly – was paralysed for life. He left the government prematurely in 1987 after a stint as party chairman to spend more time with her, and up to her death in 2020 he woke twice every night to turn her.
‘He came closest in her government to mirroring Mrs Thatcher’s visceral feelings, and he took pride in articulating them – to the delight of the man in the street. He shared her deep beliefs in the virtue of hard work, the need to take on the trade unions (he had himself been a union official), the damage to families resulting from sexual licence, the innate un-Britishness of Europe and the subversive nature of the BBC.’
He had an Aries Sun conjunct North Node Uranus in Aries conjunct the UK’s North Node so he would resonate with shared issues and be a catalyst for change. He also had a powerfully confident Jupiter Pluto in Cancer in a tough minded opposition to Saturn and squaring his innovative Sun Uranus; with his Mercury in Aries in an argumentative square to Mars in late Cancer. Pro-active, a go-getter, not subtle but to the point.
He mirrored much of Maggie Thatcher’s chart, 13 October 1925 9am Grantham, England, with her Sun Mars in Libra square Pluto opposition Jupiter which could have turned out to be a tussle for the upper hand – but they held it together to make an influential couple. Their relationship chart had a friendly composite Sun Venus in a possessive/controlling opposition to Pluto square Jupiter. Together they were a force to be reckoned with.
The Brighton Bomb went off at 2.54 am on 12 October 1984 with the Taurus Moon was exactly conjunct the UK’s 8th house Mars (to within five minutes of a degree). And the UK chart was on a Solar Arc Half Return putting the country on alert.
There is not much showing on Norman Tebbit’s chart without a birth time. But it undoubtedly rattled Maggie badly. She was on her Second Saturn Return with tr Saturn crossing her Ascendant starting a downhill slide.
Margaret Tebbit, his wife, paralysed from the chest down in the bombing, was born 24 May 1934 and died in 2020. Her Venus in Aries chimed with her husband’s Aries Sun and their relationship chart had a lively composite Uranus triune Jupiter sextile Mars with a workmanlike Sun square Saturn.
Her natal Mars in Taurus (square Saturn) was conjunct Algol both of which were catching the approaching tr North Node in Taurus in 1984, pulling her into one of the worst political atrocities on the UK mainland.
The post Norman Tebbit – respected even by leftwingers first appeared on Astroinform with Marjorie Orr – Star4cast.
