Bowden in his title is taken from a village in the Roxburghshire area of the Scottish Borders.
From 1987 to 1990 Lord Sanderson was a Minister of State in the Scottish Office, responsible for housing, agriculture and fisheries.
He also served as Chairman of the Conservative Party in Scotland in the early 1990s, and was seen as responsible for removing Michael Forsyth from the Scottish Office and other right-wingers from the Party's Central Office in Scotland.
[5] This followed the 2010 general election, where despite winning a plurality of seats in the House of Commons, the Conservatives won only one constituency in Scotland.
[6] Lord Sanderson's report recommended an overhaul of leadership, with a separately elected leader to take full responsibility of the party's performance in Scotland.