Bruce Anderson articles



Article archive:


Articles: 2013

 * Ed Miliband has no answer to IDS the dragon-slayer - Iain Duncan Smith is undeterred – if welfare reform was easy, he’ll say, someone else would have done it by now - 10th November
 * History is already against us, even without Obama, Assad et al - Immediate threats are alarming and there is no comfort from longer perspectives - 6th September
 * Why David Cameron should take to the hills - Of all the field-sports, stalking ought to be the least controversial - 27th August
 * Egypt is experiencing a crisis that is beyond the reach of any British counsel - However many wise policies our diplomats can suggest, we are also going to need luck - 19th August
 * It was always assumed that the poor were hard working. But that has ceased to be true - To revisit Richard Hoggart's The Uses of Literacy is to see what we have lost - 12th August
 * Give Cameron his due for unleashing Tory animal spirits - The party’s fortunes are improving, but its leader’s critics remain hobbled by the past - 9th August
 * Support Lords reform. But you won’t like it - Give too much power to the Lords and it would be able to challenge Government - 7th August
 * The European tide has turned. But can we be honest about it? - Though many British people may not understand exactly what has gone wrong with Europe, they know that it is something big and toxic - 30th July
 * Boris and Jo Johnson: Two very different brothers with an eye on the big prize - If Jo Johnson could borrow some of Boris’s magnetism there would be no limits to what he could achieve - 28th April
 * The PM should be wary of the heirs to the Knights of the Shire - Today’s Tory MPs are far less predictable – and manageable – than their forebears - 23rd April
 * Thatcher’s legacy: where there is discord, could there be harmony? - Two noted political voices, socialist Mark Steel and Thatcherite Bruce Anderson, go head to head on the question of Thatcher's impact - 13th April
 * Margaret Thatcher: At times like these, MPs are all in it together - Margaret Thatcher may have been a divisive political figure, but she showed kindness in her personal life; and her death united a normally combative Parliament - 11th April
 * This welfare revolution could hinge on a single word: fairness -Distinguishing between the workshy and the deserving poor will be the key to IDS’s reforms - 1st April
 * Warm words will leave PM’s critics cold - Expect praise for Europe, but also a strong argument for a new deal - 18th January



Articles: 2012

 * Until David Cameron learns to explain himself, voters will not trust him - Many natural Tories are losing faith in a party that appears to ignore their opinions - 28th December
 * Cameron must show leadership to win back the uneasy - Tories have become more ideological and often believe in simple answers - 9th October
 * Cameron must show leadership to win back the uneasy - Tories have become more ideological and often believe in simple answers - 8th October
 * Honesty is the best policy for a PM who puts pragmatism first - Mr Cameron should borrow one of the Liberals’ great slogans and trust the people - 18th August
 * Clegg’s legacy will be a trail of wreckage - The Liberal Democrats ought to grow up and help the Tories make the case for austerity - 9th August
 * Tory modernisers are taking a radical view of the state - David Cameron is realigning his party with the public services – but there is more to be done - 5th August
 * The bonds between David Cameron and George Osborne grow ever tighter - The Prime Minister will stand firm in defence of a relationship made stronger by adversity - 27th July
 * It's cruel European judges who are destroying jobs - Euro-fanaticism is the most powerful drug known to man. It is creating social problems that will scar Europe for years - 24th June
 * Our ice-cold PM won’t go cool on Osborne - Despite a bungled Budget and back-bench grumbles, the Chancellor is safe – at least for now - 4th June
 * This green and pleasant man-made land - The tension between developers and Nimbys is sure to grow – but something has to give - 31st May
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * ruling class needs a good holiday'' - Bruce Anderson advises the prime minister on how to prepare for his autumn offensive - 22nd July
 * swordsmanship of debate has a point'' - Harold Wilson was perfect at the Dispatch Box during PMQs - slick, shallow, cunning and meretricious - 17th July
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * savours double helping of luck'' - His father always told him there is nothing worse than a bad winner - 9th May
 * 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
 * Smith on Clegg’s woes'' - The Liberal party does retain one Whigs legacy. It does not like Tories - 3rd May
 * 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
 * is losing touch with core Tories'' - The prime minister does not sound as if he understands middle-class anxieties - 13th April
 * proves an inspiration for Cameron'' - Like his hero, the Prime Minister believes in standing up for freedom and justice - 24th March
 * 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

 * see opportunity in austerity'' - Osborne will cut rapidly, and criticism will not bother him - 6th October
 * exposes cracks in the coalition'' - Diamond will not be welcomed by smaller party - 9th September
 * 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
 * were right to let Megrahi go home'' - Americans who have complained about Megrahi's release need to move on - 21st August
 * strikes and autumn dole queues'' - If Unite had its way, BA would be the world's most imperilled airline - 14th August
 * good or ill, David Cameron is on the charge'' - David Cameron is determined to keep the fires of radicalism stoked - 7th August
 * 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
 * is relishing foreign affairs, but he should be wary'' - The PM has made a good start, but there is always treachery abroad - 23rd July
 * public has a right to know the truth'' - Secrecy in government is often a feeble excuse for inefficiency - 1st June
 * 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



Articles: 2009


Articles: 2008


Articles: 2007


Articles: 2006


Articles: 2005


Articles: 2004


Articles: 2003


Articles: 2002


Articles: 2001
