Andrew Clive Alexander (12 May 1935 – 5 July 2015) was an English journalist and columnist for ''

The Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire, although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', ''

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

'' and ''

The Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the highest circulation of paid newspapers in the UK. Its sister paper ''The Mail on Sunday'' was launch ...

''. Between 1984 and 2000 , he was the City editor for the ''Daily Mail''

Life

Alexander was born in

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

on 12 May 1935. His father, Ronald Fergus Alexander was a teacher and his mother was Doreen Olivia Myfanwy. He was educated at

Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...

Lancing, West Sussex Lancing is a large coastal village and civil parish in the Adur district of West Sussex, England, on the western edge of the Adur Valley. It occupies part of the narrow central section of the Sussex coastal plain between smaller Sompting to th ...

. Some time after leaving college, in 1960, he applied for a job at ''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire, although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', where he started writing about

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

, despite not having trained in the subject. While at ''The Post'', he was the unsuccessful

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate at the 1963 Colne Valley by-election. and lost again in the 1964 General Election. In 1966, he took on a role at ''

'' as a leader writer and parliamentary sketch writer. There he became an advocate of the

Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character a ...

set of beliefs. In 1972, he moved from ''The Telegraph'' to ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'', as a sketch writer. Alexander won Specialist Writer of the Year in the British Press Awards for 1976 and 1977. He was denounced in the House of Commons by the Labour MP

Dennis Canavan Dennis Andrew Canavan (born 8 August 1942) is a Scottish politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Falkirk West (UK Parliament constituency), Falkirk West from 1974 to 2000 (known as West Stirlingshire (UK Parliament constituency), West S ...

as "that prizewinning cynical jackass".PRIME MINISTER (ENGAGEMENTS)
HC Deb 21 April 1977 vol 930 cc359-63. He became the City editor for the ''Mail'' in 1984, where he could focus on financial commentary during

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

's time in office. There he argued against entry into the

European Monetary System The European Monetary System (EMS) was a multilateral adjustable exchange rate agreement in which most of the nations of the European Economic Community (EEC) linked their currencies to prevent large fluctuations in relative value. It was initi ...

, which led to ''

Black Wednesday Black Wednesday, or the 1992 sterling crisis, was a financial crisis that occurred on 16 September 1992 when the UK Government was forced to withdraw sterling from the (first) European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERMI), following a failed at ...

'' crash. He remained the City editor until 2000, and instead wrote a weekly column for the ''Mail'' until 2014. Alexander died at age 80 on 5 July 2015.

Works

*(with

Alan Watkins Alan Rhun Watkins (3 April 1933 – 8 May 2010) was for over 50 years a British political columnist in various London-based magazines and newspapers. He also wrote about wine and rugby. Life and career Alan Watkins was born in Tycroes, Carma ...

), ''The Making of the Prime Minister 1970'' (London: Macdonald, 1970). *''America and the Imperialism of Ignorance: US Foreign Policy since 1945'' (London: Biteback, 2011).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Andrew 1935 births 2015 deaths People from Worthing People educated at Lancing College English male journalists Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Daily Mail journalists