Bruce Kent

Bruce Kent (born 22 June 1929) is a British political activist. He was for many years probably Britain's best-known peace campaigner and member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). He served as General Secretary from 1980 to 1985, and as Chair from 1987 to 1990. He now holds the honorary title of Vice-President.

Kent was born in London in 1929 and was educated in Canada before attending Stonyhurst College. He served as an officer in the Royal Tank Regiment from 1947 to 1949 and afterwards read Jurisprudence at Brasenose College, Oxford from 1949-1952. In 1958 he was ordained as a Catholic priest and acted as Catholic chaplain to the University of London from 1966 to 1974. He was Chair of the charity War on Want from 1974 to 1976.

In 1987, Kent left the priesthood rather than comply with an instruction from the late Cardinal Basil Hume to desist from involvement in that year's UK General Election. [http://www.arcuk.org/pages/arc_patrons.htm#bruce]

In 1992 Bruce Kent was a candidate for the Labour Party in the constituency of Oxford West and Abingdon, where he came in third. Had he been elected, he would have been prevented, as a former Catholic priest, from taking his seat in the House of Commons. [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199899/cmhansrd/vo990616/debtext/90616-20.htm#90616-20_head0 Hansard - 16 June 1999, col 394] ] Sitting Member of Parliament and former Conservative minister John Patten retained his seat. [http://www.election.demon.co.uk/1983EC.html]

Kent now lives in Harringay, North London.

External links

* [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp59315 National Portrait Gallery Images of Bruce Kent]
* [http://openvault.wgbh.org/wapina/barcode48940kent_2/index.html/ Interview about CND] for the WGBH series, [http://openvault.wgbh.org/series/War+and+Peace+in+the+Nuclear+Age/ War and Peace in the Nuclear Age]
* [http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr191/kent.htm My Favourite Books Article in Socialist Review Issue 191, 1995]
* [http://www.newstatesman.com/writers/Bruce_Kent Articles written by Bruce Kent in The New Statesman]
* [http://www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/register.cgi/tablet-00106 The myths of the Arms Trade article in The Tablet]
* [http://www.acronym.org.uk/dd/dd13/13abol.htm The Abolition of War: The Politics of Realistic Utopianism article in Disarmament Diplomacy]

Notes