Lawrence Sanders (born April 29, 1935) is an American-British academic, social worker, politician, and former Health and Social Care Spokesperson of the

Green Party of England and Wales The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; cy, Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr, kw, Party Gwer Pow an Sowson ha Kembra, often simply the Green Party or Greens) is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla ...

. He is the older brother of

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, and two-time U.S. presidential candidate.

Early life, education, and family

Larry Sanders was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York City to Dorothy (née Glassberg) and Eli Sanders. His father was a Polish-Jewish immigrant whose family was killed in

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, while his mother was born in New York City on October 2, 1912, to Jewish immigrant parents from Radzyń Podlaski, in eastern Poland and Russia. His father was born in Słopnice, Galicia,

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now part of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

), on September 19, 1904, immigrated to America in 1921 at age 17, and supported his family by selling paint. Sanders said that when he was a child, his family never lacked food or clothing, but major purchases "like curtains or a rug" were difficult to afford. His mother died on March 25, 1960 at age 47. His father died on August 4, 1962 at age 57. Both he and his brother attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn. Sanders has said they were young postwar Jewish radicals but part of the crowd, not yet leaders. Sanders attended Brooklyn College of the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

and obtained a master's degree in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He also attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in the 1950s, leaving after two years to care for his sick mother. He returned after 35 years and completed his J.D. degree there in 1994. Sanders immigrated to the United Kingdom in 1968 or 1969. He became a university lecturer first at the

University of West London The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and in Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860, when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing Col ...

and later at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in the Department of Social Administration. His son, Jacob Edward "Jake" Sanders (born November 26, 1968), was elected to Oxford City Council in 2000 and was a

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

parliamentary candidate in the Oxford East constituency at the 2005 general election.

Political career

Sanders was active in the Labour Party in Oxford in the 1980s. He left the party in 2001 because he felt that it had moved too far to the

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

under

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, and defected to the Green Party. First elected in 2005, Sanders was a

county councillor A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

representing the East Oxford

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

in the Oxfordshire County Council until he retired from the Council in 2013. His main focuses in county politics were

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

and

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

services. He resigned from the board of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust in October 2005 in a principled stand amid concerns that proposed cuts to services would leave vulnerable patients at greater risk. He became Chairman of the Oxford Community School's Board of Governors in September 2009, following the resignation of the previous chairman, Chris Ballinger, and six other board members. In December 2009, the

Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was replac ...

approved Oxfordshire County Council's application to disband the Board of Governors and replace them with an interim executive board. On hearing the decision, Sanders said he was 'dreadfully disappointed'. In February 2016, Sanders was appointed Health Spokesperson of the

. He served until May 2021. Sanders was elected as a pledged delegate for Bernie Sanders to the

2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...

at the

Democrats Abroad Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living temporarily or permanently abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee. Democrats Abroa ...

Global Convention in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in May 2016. He tearfully spoke at the convention on July 26 of his intention to cast his vote for his brother. He was the 7th-placed candidate for the Greens in the South East England constituency in the 2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom.

Electoral history

House of Commons

Sanders was selected to contest the

Oxford East Oxford East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Anneliese Dodds of the Labour Party, who also serves as party chair. Created in 1983, the constituency covers the eastern and southern parts of Oxfor ...

constituency at the 2017 snap general election. He finished in fourth place with 1,785 votes (3.3%). Sanders was selected as the Green Party candidate for the Witney by-election after

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

David Cameron's resignation as an MP in September 2016. He finished in fourth place with 1,363 votes (3.54%). Sanders ran as a Green Party candidate for

Oxford West and Abingdon Oxford West and Abingdon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Layla Moran, a Liberal Democrat. History Creation The seat was created in 1983 as part of the reconfiguration of those in the co ...

at the 2015 UK general election and finished in fifth place, receiving 2,497 votes, 4.4% of the total.

Notes

References

Sources

*Oxfordshire County Council (July 2005). ''Who and How: Your guide to Oxfordshire County Council''.

External links

*
Oxford Mail: Companies may run community care, 2005-10-13

An interview in 2006 with Larry Sanders
b
Saint Kermit the podcastMeet Larry Sanders, Bernie's Big Brother
''

The Takeaway ''The Takeaway'' is a morning radio news program co-created and co-produced by Public Radio International and WNYC. Its editorial partner is WGBH-FM; at launch the BBC World Service and ''The New York Times'' were also editorial partners. In ...

''
Bernie Sanders brother gives glimpse into their childhood the real Bernie
''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Larry 1935 births Academics of the University of Oxford Academics of the University of West London American emigrants to the United Kingdom American people of Polish-Jewish descent American socialists British socialists Bernie Sanders British people of Polish-Jewish descent Green Party of England and Wales parliamentary candidates Harvard Law School alumni Living people Politicians from Brooklyn New York (state) Democrats James Madison High School (Brooklyn) alumni Brooklyn College alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford American people of Russian-Jewish descent British people of Russian-Jewish descent Members of Oxfordshire County Council