Edinburgh University law student ‘blocked by Donald Trump on Twitter’ shuns job offers to pursue constitutional law dreams

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By Katie King on

He’s the biggest name on campus

Travers outside the Palace of Westminster
Travers outside the Palace of Westminster

Rapunzel hair and a dedicated social media following are just two of the many things that caught our eye about Robbie Travers.

A third year lawyer at Edinburgh University, the outspoken student has been coined the city’s biggest name on campus thanks largely to his unashamed political views. We’re not just talking politics chats around the pub table; Travers is a professional political commentator and consultant who founded his own think tank in 2014.

A combination of these things means Travers has nearly 10,000 followers on his Facebook page, where he regularly posts current affairs commentary (an example of which is embedded below).

Alongside his social media musings, he writes regularly for think tank the Gatestone Institute and sometimes the nationals (an article the LLB student wrote on the “dangerous fallacy” of university safe spaces featured in The Telegraph earlier this month). He is pals with Liz Kendall MP, and needs an administrative helper to sift through the emails he receives from journalists and clients.

Phew, that’s quite the bio. But, if that wasn’t BNOC-y enough for you, the Russell Group student has another claim to fame. In December, he posted on his Facebook page that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, had blocked him on Twitter.

Nicola Sturgeon said I look Swedish. #Vogue

A post shared by Robbie Travers (@robbietravers) on

“I have absolutely no clue why it happened”, 21-year-old Travers tells us. Though the incident was “rather bizarre”, it hasn’t fazed him. He has the world at his feet and knows he’s done well to get where he is today at such a young age. When asked how he’s managed to achieve what he has before his mid-twenties, he tells us:

What the market wants the market gets. I’ve never pretended to be something I’m not. I just tell people ‘this is my name, this is what I can do and this is what I have to offer’, and it gets me hired. If you don’t put yourself out there, you’ll never succeed.

Juggling so many ventures is a stresshead law student’s worst nightmare, but Travers thinks his advising and consulting has “given him a significant advantage” in his studies because it has helped him put the law into context. “It’s all about your mindset”, he claims. “I find that if you’re working hard, it’s easier to do more.”

Expected to finish his law degree in 2018, Travers can, hopefully, take his pick of graduate jobs. He has a good network of friends and contacts that can help him out when it comes to job prospects. He goes on:

There are lots of options for me, I’m lucky enough to be able to say that. I could work in London, New York or Geneva — that would be the dream.

For now, he’s mulling it all over. He has had job offers in international commerce and trade, and is also considering doing a masters in international conflict law and resolution. He’s been offered some fellowships too. However, he’d like to take a stab at making it big in legal practice first. He explains:

Brexit, though it may divide opinion, presents a wealth of opportunity and a need for Britain to have some of the finest quality constitutional and commercial/trade focused lawyers.

Travers, coming to a law firm near you?

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