Political Career
Already interested in politics, Anderson had been the Unionist candidate in the safe Labour seat of Coatbridge and Airdrie in the 1955 general election and in the more marginal seat of East Dunbartonshire in 1959. He continued trying to find Unionist nominations in winnable seats.
Although not a Member of Parliament, Anderson was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland on 11 May 1960. This was a junior ministerial within the government (advising the Scottish Office on legal matters) which it was considered acceptable for an appointment from outside Parliament. He was also an ex-officio Commissioner for Northern Lighthouses, becoming Vice-Chairman in 1963.
When Niall Macpherson (Member of Parliament for Dumfriesshire) was given a Peerage at the end of 1963, Anderson was put forward to fight the seat in the ensuing by-election. It was speculated that the government's difficulty in guiding the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill through its Standing Committee stage in Parliament led to a decision that the Solicitor-General would be useful to have as a Member of Parliament. He kept the seat with a much-reduced majority of 971 after a low-key campaign.
Anderson was taken ill in March 1964 and was forced to announce his resignation from the government and from the Northern Lighthouse Board on 17 March. Initially intending to carry on as MP, a month later he gave up the candidacy and therefore left Parliament at the dissolution in September. When he recovered from illness, Anderson resumed his legal career and in 1965 was appointed Honorary Sheriff-Substitute for Lothians and Peebles. He was a Chairman of Scottish Industrial Tribunals from 1971 to 1972 and was Chief Reporter for Public Inquiries and Under-Secretary for the Scottish Office from 1972.
Read more about this topic: David Anderson (judge)
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