At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed in Aberdeen as a manufacturing chemist and began to attend meetings of the local Social Democratic Federation (SDF), at this time he also followed Tom Mann’s campaign for the by-election in 1896.
Robert Blatchford’s Merrie England had a profound effect upon Anderson although he did not at this point consider himself to be a socialist, but advocated Land Nationalism.
The transition from radical to socialist politics was completed after Anderson's move to Glasgow, where he contested the Camlachie seat in the 1900 khaki election on a pro-Boer platform, supported by the ILP.
In the same year he attended his first ILP conference and reinforced his reputation as a public speaker; he addressed audiences on a number of subjects ranging from Tariff reform, National Service, and key political issues.
Anderson was survived by his wife, the trade unionist and women's rights campaigner Mary Macarthur (whom he married in 1911; she d. 1921) and his daughter Nancy.
Scottish socialist politician Bruce Glasier’s opinion of him was: ‘Most naturally gifted parliamentarian born front bench, and maybe Prime Minister.