Ben Patterson (politician)

George Benjamin Patterson (born 21 April 1939) is a British writer and former Conservative Party politician.

Ben Patterson was born in Hemel Hempstead. He was educated at Westminster School, Trinity College, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics. His first job was as a tutor at Swinton Conservative College, lecturing on the Common Market.

From 1968 to 1971 he was a Councillor on the London Borough of Hammersmith.

In 1979, at the first direct elections to the European Parliament, Patterson was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Kent West. He served as vice-chairman of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy from January 1992 until he was defeated in the 1994 European elections.