Norman Lamont was a Cabinet Minister under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and a member of the House of Commons for twenty-five years.   He was Chancellor of the Exchequer at a particularly difficult time that included Britain’s exit from the ERM.  He introduced tough measures to reduce Government borrowing, the deficit and high inflation.
Sir Alan Walters, Economic Advisor to Lady Thatcher, described Norman Lamont in his post ERM actions "to be not only the most effective but also the bravest Chancellor since the War".   Many economists have attributed the economic stability and growth enjoyed by Britain in the ‘90s and thereafter to the tough policies introduced by him.
When he was Chancellor, Norman Lamont’s political advisor was David Cameron. In 2008, David Cameron asked Norman Lamont with other former Chancellors to be part of a team to advise on Britain’s financial problems.  
Norman Lamont was Britain’s Chief Negotiator at the Maastricht Treaty and secured Britain’s non-participation in the euro, of which he remains a strong opponent and critic. 
Lord Lamont was an active member of the Leave Campaign during the Referendum. Matthew D’Ancona in the Guardian said that the campaign to leave the EU owed its origins to Norman Lamont whom, he said, gave the idea of Brexit intellectual credibility when in 1994, he said he did not regard leaving the EU an unthinkable idea and that, one day, Britain might be forced to consider it.
As well as being a working Peer, he is a director of a number of financial companies. 
He is an Honorary Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.