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Ross Clark (born 12 September 1966) is a British journalist and author whose work has appeared in The Spectator, Daily Telegraph, The Times 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 and net zero emissions strategy.
Early life
Clark was born in Worcester and brought up in East Kent, where he attended the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys. He studied at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
Career
In 1989, Clark won The Spectator 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, with his work appearing in The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Express, the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday and The Times, where he frequently writes the Thunderer column. His work is strongly associated with libertarianism and free market economics, writing the "Banned Wagon" and "Globophobia" columns in The Spectator. In 2013, he was co-winner of the Bastiat Prize run by the Reason Foundation. 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, a think tank strongly associated with David Cameron. However, he later showed hostility towards some Coalition policies; in a piece in The Times in March 2013, he accused the Chancellor, George Osborne, 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, north London and the Mumford Theatre, Cambridge. 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. In 2011 he was elected to be a member of the village's parish council.
Books
- Clark, Ross (1996). Cambridgeshire (Pimlico County History Guides). Pimlico. ISBN 978-0712674676.
- Clark, Ross (2005). The Great Before: A Satire. Ross Clark. ISBN 978-0955149900.
- Clark, Ross (2006). How to Label a Goat: The silly rules and regulations that are strangling Britain. Harriman House. ISBN 978-1897597958.
- Clark, Ross (2007). The Road to Southend Pier: One man's struggle against the Surveillance Society (1st ed.). Harriman House. ISBN 978-1905641444.
- Clark, Ross (2009). The Road to Southend Pier: One man's struggle against the Surveillance Society (2nd ed.). Encounter Books. ISBN 978-1594032486.
- Clark, Ross (2012). A Broom Cupboard of One's Own: The housing crisis and how to solve it (eBook). Harriman House. ISBN 978-0857192967.
- Clark, Ross (2017). War Against Cash: the plot to empty your wallet and own your financial future - and why you must fight it. Harriman House. ISBN 978-0857196255.
- Clark, Ross (2020). The Denial: a satirical novel of climate change. Lume Books. ISBN 978-1839012105.
- Clark, Ross (2023) Not Zero: How an Irrational Target Will Impoverish You, Help China (and Won't Even Save the Planet) Forum Press ISBN 978 1800752429 https://swiftpress.com/book/not-zero/
References
- Harriman-House. "Author Profile - Ross Clark". Harriman-House.
- Daniels, Anthony (31 December 2005). "Onward and Downward". The Spectator.
- Cohen, Nick (7 January 2013). "A coalition of the complacent". The Spectator.
- Clark R (2 April 2004) Daily Telegraph: Net zero now threatens our national security
- Cambridge News (1 July 2003). "City's depressing housing under fire". Cambridge News. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013.
- Clark, Ross (20 September 2003). "Still stewing". Daily Telegraph.
- Clark, Ross (12 October 2002). "Banned Wagon, The UN's bullying of Britain over smacking has persuaded Ross Clark that his column must now tackle international puritanism". The Spectator.
- Clark, Ross (24 July 2004). "Globophobia, A weekly survey of world restrictions on freedom and free trade". The Spectator.
- Reason Foundation (6 November 2013). "Newsday's Lane Filler and The Times' Ross Clark Win Reason Foundation's Bastiat Prize". Reason Foundation.
- O’Brien, Neil; Clark, Ross (2010), The Renewal of Government, A manifesto for whoever wins the election (PDF), Policy Exchange
- Clark, Ross (21 March 2013). "If property prices fall, this scheme will be a disaster (Osborne pulls out all the stops to reflate the housing bubble)". The Times.
- "Shot at Dawn". Etcetera Theatre.
- "The Perfect City". Etcetera Theatre.
- "The White Feather".
- Reach Parish Council. "Council Election (Thursday May 5th 2011)".