(Charles) Russell Sanderson, Baron Sanderson of Bowden (born 30 April 1933) is a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician and a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

. He was a member of the House of Lords from 1985 until his retirement in 2018. Sanderson was educated at

St. Mary's School, Melrose St. Mary's School is a private, co-educational, day and boarding prep school in Melrose, Scotland. As of 2015 there are 190 pupils; 97 boys and 93 girls. History St. Mary's School was established in 1895 by John Hamilton as a school for boys. ...

, Glenalmond College,

Bradford Technical College The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

and the Scottish Textile College.

Knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1981, Sanderson was created a

on 5 June 1985 as Baron Sanderson of Bowden, of

Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnet ...

in the District of Ettrick and Lauderdale and spoke regularly in the House of Lords. Bowden in his title is taken from a village in the

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

area of the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

. From 1987 to 1990 Lord Sanderson was a Minister of State in the Scottish Office, responsible for housing, agriculture and fisheries. He also served as Chairman of the Conservative Party in Scotland in the early 1990s, and was seen as responsible for removing Michael Forsyth from the Scottish Office and other right-wingers from the Party's Central Office in Scotland. In 2010 he was appointed to lead a review into the future of the Conservative Party in Scotland. This followed the

2010 United Kingdom general election The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom unde ...

, where despite winning a plurality of seats in the House of Commons, the Conservatives won only one constituency in Scotland. Lord Sanderson's report recommended an overhaul of leadership, with a separately elected leader to take full responsibility of the party's performance in Scotland. A formal response from the party was expected in early 2011. He retired from the House of Lords on 29 March 2018.

Arms

References

Sources

* http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/people/mr-charles-sanderson * https://web.archive.org/web/20110527052725/http://www.dodonline.co.uk/engine.asp?lev1=4&lev2=38&menu=70&biog=y&id=26549&group=5&Page=Lord%20Sanderson%20of%20Bowden%20%3A%20Political%20Biography * https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199798/ldjournal/231/026.htm 1933 births Living people People educated at St. Mary's School, Melrose People educated at Glenalmond College Conservative Party (UK) life peers {{Life-peer-stub