Bruce Campbell (barrister)

Keith Bruce Campbell QC (25 October 1916 – 1990) was a British lawyer, judge and politician. As a barrister, he specialised in divorce law, and during a brief Parliamentary career he also concentrated on family law issues. His term in office as a judge ended in scandal and enforced removal from office.

Campbell was born in Christchurch, New Zealand and attended Christchurch Technical College and Canterbury University. He moved to London in the late 1930s to undertake postgraduate training at the University of London. When his course was over in 1941 he was given an officer's commission in the Royal Army Service Corps; he served in North Africa and Italy.

On demobilisation Campbell was called to the bar at the Inner Temple. He practised in divorce law, usually on the North-Western circuit, and served on the General Council of the Bar from 1956 to 1960 and from 1965 to 1970. He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1964.

An active member of the Conservative Party, Campbell fought the seat of Manchester Gorton at the 1955 general election. He fought Oldham West in the 1966 election, and when the sitting Labour MP Leslie Hale announced his retirement due to ill health, Campbell was a natural choice for the local Conservative Association. The byelection campaign took place at a time when the Labour government of Harold Wilson was unpopular and Campbell criticised the government for cutting back on the motorway programmes and for their incomes policy. Many senior Conservatives travelled to Oldham to support Campbell, as a victory was thought possible.

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