Norman Tebbit, British Ex-Minister Behind Controversial ‘Cricket Test’ For Migrants, Dies Aged 94

Lord Norman Tebbit, a prominent minister in former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet in the 1980s and associated with the controversial “cricket test” to determine the loyalty of immigrants from South Asia in the 1990s, has died aged 94.

Known over the years as the “Tebbit Test” after it was coined by him in April 1990 as a Conservative Party MP at the time, the test referred to Tebbit's views that migrants continuing to support the countries of their heritage over the England cricket team was symbolic of a lack of integration and assimilation within British society.

"A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass the cricket test," Tebbit, Tory MP for Chingford in east London at the time, told ‘The Los Angeles Times’ in an interview.

"Which side do they cheer for? It's an interesting test. Are you still harking back to where you came from or where you are?," he questioned.

While it provoked anger among migrants and media outlets at the time, the former Conservative Party chairman went on to reiterate his stance in August 2005 in the wake of the July 7 bombings that year which revealed the Pakistani heritage of three of the four UK-born terrorist suspects.

"We have generated home-grown bombers; a combination of the permissive society together with a minority population deeply rooted in its own moral code," Tebbit, who had stepped back from frontline politics by then, told ‘Today’ in the UK.

“If people had listened to me, what they would have done above all was to improve schools in our inner cities where Asian, and indeed black youths, are most likely to come into contact with English young people,” he said.

However, years later, his views underwent a further transformation vis-a-vis migrants from the Indian subcontinent.

“In recent years, British Asian players have again given us some of that swashbuckling style of play which the crowds are willing to pay to watch,” he told the BBC in November 2014.

“Not only that, but it encourages the generations of British-born Asians to feel part of the nation – and those of long British ancestry to welcome them into our team,” said the vocal opponent of mass immigration into the UK.

Lord Tebbit went on to suggest a new, revised test for “would-be UK citizens” to be asked: “which side their fathers or grandfathers fought for during the Second World War?”; addressing the changing nature of migration.

“And so you’ll find that the Poles and the Czechs and the Slovaks were all on the right side. And so that’s a pretty good test, isn’t it? Perhaps we’ll even manage to teach them to play cricket gradually over the years,” he said.

His death on Monday was confirmed by his son, William, in a statement asking for privacy for the family.

Rishi Sunak, Britain’s first former prime minister of Indian heritage, and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel were among those leading tributes to their party’s former grandee.

“Saddened to hear of the passing of Lord Tebbit. He was a titan of Conservative politics whose resilience, conviction and service left a lasting mark on our party and our country. My thoughts are with his family and all those who knew him,” said Sunak, in a social media statement.

Patel described Tebbit as a “giant” of the Conservative Party and British politics.

The British Gujarati shadow minister said: “He was a man devoted to promoting freedom and liberty and gave a lifetime of service to our country in the RAF and in Parliament. His formidable record in government promoting trade, industry and job creation helped lift our country's economic fortunes and is a legacy to be proud of.

“Norman spent his life promoting our values and through adversary and challenge, he always displayed great courage. It was a privilege to know Norman and receive his support and advice.”

A Thatcher loyalist, Tebbit represented the constituencies of Epping and Chingford as a Tory MP for 22 years before receiving a life peerage before retiring from the House of Lords in 2022. During his long political career in frontline politics, he served as employment secretary, trade and industry secretary, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster and chair of the Conservative Party.

He received serious injuries in the 1984 Brighton Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombing, which left his wife Margaret paralysed from the neck down.