Bruce Anderson

Profile: Full name: Bruce Anderson Area of interest: Politics Journals/Organisation: The Independent | The Daily Telegraph | Financial Times Email: b.anderson@independent.co.uk Personal website: Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/bruce-anderson Blog: Representation: Networks:

Biography: About: Education: Career: Worked as a researcher for the Conservative Party in the 1970s; Weekend World television producer; Sunday Telegraph: assistant editor; Spectator: political editor; has written comment for The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, and regularly for the Daily Mail. Until June 2010 commentator at The Independent Current position/role: Freelance commentator also writes/written for: The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Times, Financial Times Other roles/Main role: author, Conservative historian Other activities: Disclosures: Viewpoints/Insight: Broadcast media: A producer on LWT's Weekend World; appearances on BBC's Question Time IMDb Video: Controversy/Criticism: Awards/Honours: Scoops: Other:

Books & Debate: John Major: the making of the Prime Minister (1991) OCLC 26264416 Latest work: David Cameron (2006) OCLC 71165355 Speaking/Appearances: Debate:

Journals: Column name: Remit/Info: Section: Role: Pen-name: Email: Website: Commissioning editor: Day published: Regularity: Irregular Column format: Average length:

Articles: 2012 Spencer Perceval deserves better from posterity - He was the only British prime minister to be assassinated, but he should be remembered for his achievements too - 29th April The Prime Minister must remind us he’s on our side - Cameron is failing to reassure voters in these tough times - 18th April We still don’t understand our serene but radical PM - David Cameron has forced through health, education and welfare reforms that Mrs Thatcher sidestepped - 8th April Cameron should look to the future, not to the pasty - A lot of voters see the Tories as the party that ate all the pies - 30th March George Osborne is a superb cook, but the Budget cupboard is bare - The Chancellor has limited ingredients with which to create the feast demanded of him - 14th February The Eurofanatics should join the Marxists in the dustbin of history - The end of the euro may prove chaotic, but recovery will come – sooner rather than later - 3rd January

Articles: 2011 Our Santa Claus PM will have to discover his inner Scrooge - Despite his strengths, Cameron can sound like a vicar jollying along a church outing - 28th December Fox wasn’t too far to the right, he just wasn’t right - Bruce Anderson looks at why Liam Fox is no longer in office - 17th October Nice David Cameron doesn’t seem to know that people can be nasty - The Prime Minister shouldn’t give up his vision for Libya and Britain, but he needs a touch of realism - 25th August We must give these continental emperors underwear, at least - With the euro revealed as a failure, it is time to reassert sanity in the banking system - 8th August Is power without popularity the best David Cameron can hope for? - You know you're heading for trouble when Norman Tebbit pats you on the back - 1st August The euro crisis could pull the Coalition apart - David Cameron’s troops want him to seize the moment over Europe – but will Nick Clegg let him? - 23rd July Britain’s ruling class needs a good holiday - Bruce Anderson advises the prime minister on how to prepare for his autumn offensive - 22nd July The swordsmanship of debate has a point - Harold Wilson was perfect at the Dispatch Box during PMQs - slick, shallow, cunning and meretricious - 17th July Cameron masters the Commons, but can he convince the country? - An error of judgment is one thing, but the PM must now tell us what he truly stands for - 14th July Why Steve Hilton is Thatcher’s heir in No 10 rows - The special adviser may well be the most extraordinary character ever to have worked in Number 10. He is certainly the scruffiest - 24th June Cameron needs to best the Tory Bennites - Whenever the party hits rough water, there are mutterings: ‘This wouldn’t have happened in Margaret’s day' - 6th June Not caring what the people think has never turned out well, Kenneth Clarke - As is typical of a Eurocrat, Mr Clarke's bright ideas fall foul of his arrogance - 21st May Cameron savours double helping of luck - His father always told him there is nothing worse than a bad winner - 9th May Labour and the Liberal Democrats share an identity crisis - Whoever their leader, neither party will recover its standing without articulating what it actually stands for - 8th May Sydney Smith on Clegg’s woes - The Liberal party does retain one Whigs legacy. It does not like Tories - 3rd May Don’t blame the Coalition – its incoherence comes from the top - Morning coat or lounge suit? Conservative or radical? David Cameron seems unable to decide - 20th April Cameron is losing touch with core Tories - The prime minister does not sound as if he understands middle-class anxieties - 13th April Palmerston proves an inspiration for Cameron - Like his hero, the Prime Minister believes in standing up for freedom and justice - 24th March What Seif Gaddafi taught me about realpolitik - Foreign policy has to deal with the world as it is, not as we wish it to be - 25th February

Articles: 2010 Tories see opportunity in austerity - Osborne will cut rapidly, and criticism will not bother him - 6th October Barclays exposes cracks in the coalition - Diamond will not be welcomed by smaller party - 9th September David Cameron is a radical with no fear of power - The PM knows what he wants to achieve in office, and he has the experience to do it - 4th September We were right to let Megrahi go home - Americans who have complained about Megrahi's release need to move on - 21st August Summer strikes and autumn dole queues - If Unite had its way, BA would be the world's most imperilled airline - 14th August For good or ill, David Cameron is on the charge - David Cameron is determined to keep the fires of radicalism stoked - 7th August Ian Gow was the ultimate loyalist - History could have been very different if the IRA had not murdered one of Margaret Thatcher's most trusty aides - 30th July Cameron is relishing foreign affairs, but he should be wary - The PM has made a good start, but there is always treachery abroad - 23rd July The public has a right to know the truth - Secrecy in government is often a feeble excuse for inefficiency - 1st June David Cameron will transform Britain, if the Conservatives can win the political game - David Cameron has great plans for education and welfare reform, but first he must sell the Tories to the voters - 18th February

The Independent: Column name: *ended June 2010* Remit/Info: Politics Section: Role: Commentator Pen-name: Email: b.anderson@independent.co.uk Website: Independent.co / Bruce Anderson Commissioning editor: Day published: Monday Regularity: Weekly Column format: Average length:

Articles: 2010 Of course traditional architecture is better - Any fair-minded person should ask themselves why this creative, dedicated, and invaluable public servant is subjected to so much captious denigration - 28th June Osborne has to find the right language - It is where the politics come in. The Chancellor has to get the tone right. While not shirking the bad news, he must persuade us that it will not last forever - 20th June Creative tension binding the coalition - Civil servants would rather work for a rude but effective minister - 14th June Obama, not BP, is the villain of this piece - The President of the United States has behaved disgracefully - 7th June The euro is entering its final phase - No one told electorates they would have to pay up for other countries - 31st May Momentum is the key for Cameron - It is not clear whether his changes to the 1922 Committee were either necessary or wise. It is useful to allow backbenchers to have an outlet for their grievances - 24th May Cameron had to risk Tory dismay - By negotiating with the Liberals, he was able to occupy the moral high ground - 17th May Mistakes that cost Mr Cameron dear - David Cameron has taken a risk, but he has acted in the national interest - 10th May Cameron could be our de Gaulle - He's not from some secretive hereditary caste cut off from the rest of society - 3rd May Why left-wingers should look right - David Cameron would help Europe to think its way out of its difficulties - 26th April Don't be taken in by Clegg's 'niceness' - The Liberals seem to be able to get away with anything - 20th April Cameron's authenticity could be decisive - His vision is not quite as dramatic as the Tamworth Manifesto – but it’s not far off - 12th April Only Cameron has the guts to tackle the welfare aristocrats - The Tories' commitment to the family is part of a wider mission to transform society - 11th April (writing in The Sunday Telegraph) I have never known the Tories to be so committed to the poor - Thatcher's range of human sympathy was confined to the striving middle class - 5th April Only the Tories will benefit from public debates - Bruce Anderson says spin and lack of substance will ultimately be exposed by the television cameras - 31st March (writing in The Daily Telegraph) Yes, America places its own interests first - The illusions about a new world order were a half-holiday from realism - 29th March Different leadership can save church - Out of weakness its bishops condoned both terrorists and sexual terrorists - 22nd March Obama's failure on the Middle East - When it comes to peace terms, most Israelis are wholly unrealistic - 15th March Mr Brown's contempt for the Army - As a result of his malfeasance, men have died who ought to have lived - 8th March Cameron is at best when threat is greatest - The Conservatives' leader has an electricity which his rivals cannot match - 1st March Bullying, tantrums and Brown - To talk about values and then behave like him deserves a prize for hypocrisy - 22nd February We have a duty to use torture - The Hitchens trial run proves that we have something which could work - 15th February Tories may wobble but Brown remains their strongest asset - The party needs an attack dog to take on Mandelson. That's not Cameron's role - 8th February Blair fell for the Enlightenment myth - The illusion that it's possible to reshape human nature seduces too many - 1st February Is this President strong enough? - A year on, worship of Obama has given way to disillusionment - 18th January All of Brown's Cabinet now want him to lose the next election - Mandelson's position is without precedent in British politics – he's choreographer-in-chief - 11th January In a body-language election there can be only one winner - This campaign might still matter - 4th January

Articles: 2009 Our underclass deserves better - We acquiesced as the ideals of the Welfare State were being undermined - 28th December Our underclass deserves better than policies that keep them poor - We acquiesced as the ideals of the Welfare State were being undermined - 28th December Hard cases make bad sentences - With the greatest respect to the judge, the rulings on the Hussains were wrong - 21st December Labour only ever acts out of self-interest - If Brown could scrape home, he wouldn't care what state the country was in - 14th December Bankers can deliver economic growth - There are already signs that financial service companies are moving abroad - 7th December Toryism does believe that there is society - Thatcher believed concern for the bottom was 'wet'. Cameron is opposite - 30th November Iraq is inseparable from Tony Blair - The destruction of Saddam was a noble cause, even if ineptly conducted - 23rd November Why the public are wrong over our mission in Afghanistan - The West will only be seen as a reliable friend if it is also seen as a reliable foe - 16th November The EU battle isn't over for Cameron - A short-term crisis has been averted, but a longer term crisis is inevitable - 9th November Let's be honest... legalising drugs would benefit society - This is a war that cannot be won. And the suppression of David Nutt won't help - 3rd November Let's have more rich bankers, not fewer - We need long-term thinking to ensure the recovery is sustained - 26th October We can go too far in denigrating MPs - Legg limits should not be retrospective – even Brown has a right to fairness - 19th October Courage in battle, cowardice in Cabinet - Dannatt would be as hard on a Tory government as on a Labour one - 12th october All jokes aside, Cameron speech was seriously good - It was a formidable speech, which demonstrated Cameron's command of his party, and of British politics - 9th October Europe must be a priority for the Tories - There must be a full-scale renegotiation of our relations with the EU - 5th October A breach of trust that cost Brown - Murdoch's defection will add to the sense of decay surrounding the Government - 1st October We are in desperate need of good and honest government - In trying to describe Gordon Brown's task, its impossibility becomes manifest - 28th September We are adding insult to injury - With better kit and more troops, our Afghan mission could yet be salvaged - 21st September There is an opportunity as well as pain in spending cuts - The Tories must make clear their target is not front-line services nor their employees - 14th September Stop our children turning into torturers - Tough love is needed, with the goal of uplift – both physical and moral - 7th September Chamberlain was unlucky but Brown deserves his fate - Gordon Brown could have been decisive. Instead, we have had a skulking silence - 31st August You can cut waste and save services - Tightly-run programmes will not only cost less, they will deliver more - 24th August Cameron was right to slap down Hannan - Even Margaret Thatcher used to say that the NHS was safe with us - 17th August Credit got us into this mess; now we need more to get us out - We cannot solve our problems by stasis; the economy will have to grow its way back to health - 10th August The great ethical questions that society chooses to ignore - The level of moral debate in modern Britain is pathetically, contemptibly low - 3rd August We should grieve for Harry Patch - 1914-1945 was the worst epoch in history since the Dark Ages - 27th July The British don't understand their Army - No organisation in history has devoted so much care to training its members - 20th July Gordon Brown bears some responsibility for these deaths - The only time he took a positive attitude to defence was when it involved his constituency - 13th July It will take dynamite to remove Brown - If he were a boxer, the fight would have been stopped long ago - 6th July The Ashes are the Aussies' to lose - The Australians would drink warm beer before taking England seriously - 2nd July One week on, the world is more dangerous - I detect increased pessimism among Western policymakers over Iran - 29th June Inquiry needs answers from the Americans - Tony Blair could not admit his real motive: regime change - 22nd June Now is not the time for constitutional change - To improve the quality of government it should do less - 15th June Brown clings on – bloodied, but not broken - He can't make a decision – but he won't let others decide either - 8th June You can't reform the European constitution without a ballot - We must demand an end to party list elections - 1st June The system only needs a slight fixing - An eruption of anger will not improve our system of government - 25th May Most MPs are decent people, not crooks - Many good men and women find themselves hideously embarrassed - 18th May Brown's best refuge now is a bipartisan solution - No. 10 must display some goodwill - 11th May Cometh the hour... - Thatcher's greatness should not be in dispute - 4th May Cameron must face down the voters - He is going to have to refight some of Maggie's battles - 27th April Tories can't start laughing yet - We mustn't be shocked by the mean-mindedness and moral squalor - 20th April A crisis of law, liberty and order - Visitors from Pakistan need to be closely, though courteously, regulated - 13th April Brown and Cameron have a tricky task after the G20 - One of the more horrifying aspects of recent events was the realisation that the balance sheets of some major financial institutions were wholly misleading - 6th April Stop lecturing us Mr Brown - You'll have time enough for that next year - 30th March Sarkozy and the paradox of French politics - Here is the leader of missed opportunities - 23rd March Who's going to come up with our new big idea? - Fitting economic growth with low inflation is the difficulty - 16th March Our own timidity has drowned the innocence of the Nineties - Neo-con values were not imperialist - 9th March Brown can't save us. Obama can't save him - Despite the fanfare, he goes to Washington as a supplicant - 2nd March Brown cannot bank on China’s stability - A bowl of rice is no longer enough to guarantee acquiescence - 23rd February Israel is trapped and peace is remote - A crass failure of moral sensitivity has led to crass strategic misjudgment - 16th February What Cameron must now do to win - The Tories seem to be sleepwalking to power - 9th February Let’s resist ignorant populism - A lot of people are looking for an excuse to express their increasing rage - 2nd February Presidents do not pick prime ministers - Many Tories believe that Barack Obama is a potent factor. They are wrong - 26th January History will vindicate George Bush - His critics demonstrate their own weak hold on reality - 19th January What does Parliament mean when prime ministers ignore it? - The expansion of the state, and increase in legislation, has created a problem - 12th January 'Israel is in danger of fighting the last war' - As long as Israel occupies the West Bank, Palestine will be Arabs' sore tooth - 5th January

Articles: 2008 A new year: time for a new economics - This is the season when foolish commentators allow themselves to be tempted into making predictions - 29th December 2008 The sky grew dark in 2008 - The Cold War was manageable, but where does one start today? - 22nd December 2008 The Tories must seize back the agenda - They are still seen as a party of the rich for the rich - 15th December 2008 Wasted money and wasted lives - Conventional solutions to the underclass problem will continue to fail - 8th December 2008 Parliament's rights are under threat - Under this Government, the populist titbits are always leaked - 1st December 2008 Brown is not after recovery, he's after votes - The graver the situation, the more bombastic his boasting - 24th November 2008 To silence his critics, Osborne must do more - He wants to think everything through, not rush out spurious solutions - 17th November 2008 In praise of a Renaissance Prince - Tomorrow marks the 60th birthday of much the most important British public intellectual of the present day - 13th November 2008 Will the real Barack Obama stand up? - He may be the greatest bomfogger in history - 10th November 2008 Can a Tory counter-attack succeed? - Some of Mr Cameron's senior advisers bear the scars of the last three elections - 3rd November 2008 Osborne was acting his age. What's Mandelson's excuse? - Nat Rothschild has taken the revenge that Malvolio dreamt of - 27th October 2008 Time to expose Brown's negligence - The Conservatives can and should do more to influence the debate - 20th October 2008 Yes, the Tories should blame Brown - The consequences will be much graver because of our poor fiscal position - 13th October 2008 Part minister, part hostage, Mandy changes the game - This is a presence that makes it more likely that Brown will hang on till 2010 - 6th October 2008 It's not policies that the Tories need, but a bit of gravitas - Cameron faces two prejudices: he looks boyish and there's the four-letter word – Eton - 29th September 2008 Brown must reach into his soul and show his true values - 22nd September 2008 It's not heresy to teach creationism - One reason for relishing the prospect of Palin is the outrage she would cause the left-liberals - 15th September 2008 No cavalry can save Brown now - It has come to a pretty pass when the Leader of the Opposition tells the PM to get a grip on his party - 8th September 2008 Why Darling is Brown's nemesis - 1st September 2008 Obama's not American enough - In demographic terms, Senator Biden is a sensible choice - 25th August 2008 End of empire is always a muddy, bloody, business - 18th August 2008 The West must share the blame for war in Georgia - Our diplomatic weakness rests on the shoulders of a longer-term strategic incompetence - 11th August 2008 Tories can't believe their luck as Labour destroys itself - If Brown has any dignity, any self-respect, he ought to come out clunking and fire Miliband - 4th August 2008 It is almost impossible for Mr Brown to cling on. And it is almost impossible to replace him - The average Labour MP oscillates between febrility, fantasy, fear and despair - 28th July 2008 In these grim times, the Tories need to hide their happiness and hone their soundbites - Cameron forced his followers to discover bunny-hugging rather than bunny-boiling - 21st July 2008 Economic gloom may be bad for Labour. But it's not necessarily good for the Tories either - It was assumed a Cameron government could take the economy for granted. Not so - 14th July 2008 Ray Lewis and Lord Phillips are both grappling with society's alienated groups - It is necessary to remind some Muslims that respect is a mutual obligation - 7th July 2008 Gordon Brown thought he could rely on the Scottish vote – now it could bring him down - Far from being a comedy, this could turn out to be a tragedy: the tragedy of the Union - 30th June 2008 Andy Burnham, Shami Chakrabarti, and the creeping encroachment of state power - Culture Ministers can have plenty of evenings out, but there's not enough to do in office hours - 23rd June 2008 In offering Labour an illusion of hope, David Davis may have done Cameron a service - Politicians whose views alter in middle life are always fascinating, and hazardous - 16th June 2008 The Government is pursuing the 42-day law for the basest of party political reasons - Ministers are assuring rebels they needn't vote against as the Lords will reject the new powers - 9th June 2008 We are destroying the very values which could save us in our battle against Islam - Europe has immense strengths. The resources of civilisation are not exhausted - 2nd June 2008 We are destroying the very values which could save us in our battle against Islam - Europe has immense strengths. The resources of civilisation are not exhausted - 26th May 2008 Never mind the 'good society' or the truth - Mr Brown will do anything to stay in power - The British left has never come to terms with Thatcherism. Do they hate it or emulate it? - 19th May 2008 The world is in an alarming state of flux – and there is a limit to what Britain can do about it - When Dmitri Medvedev was elected, Gordon Brown talked as if he was putting him on probation - 12th May 2008 Boris Johnson is a libertarian, but he is not a Tory - and he's unlikely to last the course - He is a man without core belief: without a political or intellectual compass - 5th May 2008 Brown might be imploding, but Cameron knows that the Tories still have work to do - The Conservative leader has a quality which will serve him well when he becomes PM - 28th April 2008 Labour MPs thought that Brown was a lion. Now they are fearful that he is but a mouse - He promised strength and integrity. What can he now replace them with: charm? - 21st April 2008 This Government has lost touch with reality over foreign policy, terror and human rights - Darfur is the topic for any politician who wants to make cheap sentiment sound high-minded - 14th April 2008 We should applaud Russia for its successes - Just because he is not Thomas Jefferson, this does not mean that Putin is Stalin - 7th April 2008 We're not ready to extend lives indefinitely - Immense political problems will be caused by having infinitely repairable bodies - 31st March 2008 Human beings still don't understand money - Credit is like fire; fine in the fireplace, but otherwise a threat to the house - 24th March 2008 Some voters are struggling, some are coping. But they all want a little hope - Now is the time for David Cameron to respond to this new, anxious public mood - 17th March 2008 Jodrell Bank's closure proves we no longer tread boldly toward frontiers of science - 10th March 2008 Auschwitz is no subject for point-scoring, and neither party emerges with any credit - 25th February 2008 Cameron can say he will cut taxes and deliver on services, but will the voters believe him? - 18th February 2008 We don't need to tell China what it's doing wrong - Human rights has inspired more cant than any other political debatee - 11th February 2008 Parliament should think twice before changing the rules on MPs' allowances - We do not want obsessive legislators. Nor is there anything wrong with MPs employing wives - 4th February 2008 Brown finally makes a good decision. But it won't make up for the qualities he has lost - The PM has two modes: action leading to retreat, and thought that never leads to action - 28th January 2008 The toxic waste created by our broken society - 21st January 2008 Don't rule out Bloomberg in this race - He would be the most formidable third party candidate since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 - 14th January 2008 Everyone should have the chance to flex sharp elbows - The Tories have worked out the answer to Britain's educational problems - 7th January 2008

News & updates:

Links: Spectator articles (archive) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Anderson http://www.powerbase.info/index.php?title=Bruce_Anderson Hack watch: The security services and Whitehall have long kept dossiers on certain journalists but, characteristically, New Labour has widened the focus - as an internal cabinet memo obtained by the Guardian shows - Seumas Milne, Kevin Maguire, The Guardian, 22nd January 2001 http://www.powerbase.info/index.php/Bruce_Anderson