Ross Clark (born 12 September 1966) is a British journalist and author whose work has appeared 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 ''The ...

'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' and other publications. He is the author of several books, including ''How to Label a Goat: the silly Rules and Regulations that are strangling Britain'' and ''The Great Before'', a novel which satirised the pessimism of the Green movement. He is a frequent critic of British government policy, especially on its interventions in the housing market.

Early life

Clark was born in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

and brought up in

East Kent Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation. Prehistoric Kent Kent has been occupied since the Lower Palaeolithic as finds from the quarries at Fordwich and Swanscombe attest. The Swanscombe sku ...

, where he attended the

Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys (also known as The Langton Grammar School for Boys and simply referred to as The Langton) is an 11–18 foundation grammar school for boys and mixed sixth form in Canterbury, Kent, England. It was establish ...

. He studied at Trinity Hall,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

Career

In 1989, Clark won ''

'' Young Writers Award, part of the prize for which – a lunch — he later claimed not to have received. He established himself as a

freelance journalist ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

, with his work appearing in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' and '' Sunday Telegraph'', the '' Daily Express'', the '' Daily Mail'' and ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...

'' and ''

'', where he frequently writes the Thunderer column. His work is strongly associated with libertarianism and

free market economics Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procure ...

, writing the "Banned Wagon" and "Globophobia" columns in ''The Spectator''. In 2013, he was co-winner of the

Bastiat Prize The Bastiat Prize was a journalism award given annually by the Reason Foundation. In 2011 and before it was given by the International Policy Network. The Bastiat Prize recognized journalists whose published works "explain, promote and defend the ...

run by the

Reason Foundation The Reason Foundation is an American libertarian think tank that was founded in 1978. The foundation publishes the magazine ''Reason''. Based in Los Angeles, California, it is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. According to its web site, the f ...

. He was also shortlisted for the prize in 2004. In 2010, shortly before the general election, he co-wrote, with Neil O'Brien, ''The Renewal of Government'', the manifesto of

Policy Exchange Policy Exchange is a British conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". ''The Washington Post'' said Policy Exchange's re ...

, a think tank strongly associated with David Cameron. However, since then he has shown hostility towards Coalition policies; in a piece in ''The Times'' in March 2013, he accused the Chancellor,

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...

, by means of a plan to underwrite £130 billion of mortgage debt, of forcing the taxpayer to take the same speculative risks which had caused the banking crisis. In 2012, Clark's musical ''Shot at Dawn'' was performed as a workshop at the Etcetera Theatre in Camden. The musical was a success and was later restaged as a full-scale professional production in 2014 at Upstairs at The Gatehouse in

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...

, north London and the Mumford Theatre,

. He also wrote, with Martin Coslett, '' The Perfect City'', which was performed at the Etcetera Theatre in March 2013. In 2015, the musical ''Shot at Dawn'' was renamed ''The White Feather'' and performed at the Union Theatre in Southwark.

Personal

He lives in Reach,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

. In 2011 he was elected to be a member of the village's parish council.

Books

* * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Ross 1966 births Living people Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge British libertarians