Bruce Anderson (born 1949)
is a British political
columnist
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...
, currently working as a freelancer. Formerly a political editor at ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
'' and contributor to the ''
Daily Mail'', he wrote for ''
The Independent'' from 2003 to September 2010, and
ConservativeHome
ConservativeHome is a British right-wing blog which supports, but is independent of, the Conservative Party. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about bo ...
until 2012.
Early life and education
Anderson was born in
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) nort ...
, and was educated at
Campbell College
Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a ...
, Belfast, and
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican m ...
, where he read History.
He was a contemporary of the historian
Paul Bew
Paul Anthony Elliott Bew, Baron Bew (born 22 January 1950), is a British historian from Northern Ireland and a life peer. He has worked at Queen's University Belfast since 1979, and is currently Professor of Irish Politics, a position he has ...
at both school and university.
Politics
In his youth he was a
Marxist, and it was as a member of the radical organization
People's Democracy (alongside Bew) that he first became involved in the
civil rights campaign in Northern Ireland. Anderson participated in the most "dramatic moment in the story of People's Democracy": a four-day 'freedom walk' from Belfast to Derry, which began on New Year's Day 1969. On 4 January he and his fellow marchers
were attacked by approximately 200
loyalists at Burntollet Bridge, just outside Derry.
He still writes regularly for ''The Spectator'', where his contributions are distinguished by their unstinting support for Britain's former Prime Minister
David Cameron, whom he identified as a future Conservative Party leader in 2003.
My hero
''The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
'', 26 July 2003 Following the outcome of the referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union in June 2016, Anderson commented that:
References
External links
Independent Home page
Articles
in ''The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
''.
1949 births
Living people
British political journalists
The Independent people
The Spectator people
Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
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