Robin Charles William Tilbrook (born 1958) is a solicitor[1] and English nationalist politician who has been chairman of the English Democrats since its foundation in 2002. The party is a right-wing to far-right, English nationalist political party, that advocates a devolved English Parliament, having previously advocated English independence from the United Kingdom.[2]
Robin Tilbrook | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman of the English Democrats | |
| Assumed office 17 September 2002 | |
| Deputy | None |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 April 1958 Kuala Lumpur, Federation of Malaya |
| Political party | English Democrats (2002–present) Conservative Party (prior to 1997) |
Early life
editTilbrook was born in Kuala Lumpur, Federation of Malaya, in 1958.[3] He was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire,[4] gained a BA (Hons) in politics and economics from the University of Kent at Canterbury, and then studied at The College of Law, Chester.[citation needed]
He was a Coldstream Guardsman and has worked in a factory, in junior management, and as a teacher at primary and secondary level.[citation needed] By 2003, he was a solicitor and a partner in the firm of Tilbrooks in Ongar, Essex.[5][6] In 2005, he commented after a case, "It is a black day in the courts when they refuse to make a declaration that St George's Day is a special occasion."[7]
On 27 September 2011, he became a Freeman of the City of London.[8]
Politics
editTilbrook was a member of the Conservative Student Association and a member of the Conservative Party,[6] at one time a Conservative candidate for Ongar Town council.[citation needed] He co-founded the English National Party in 1997,[3] and then helped to relaunch the party as the English Democrats in 2002 to campaign for an English Parliament.[9] He is also the leader and nominating officer.[10] He has stood as a candidate for the English Democrats in local, parliamentary[6] and European elections. Standing in Epping Forest, he received 1.4% of the vote in the 2005 general election, 4.4% at 2005 Essex County Council election,[11] 18.2% in the 2007 Epping Forest District Council election,[12] and 11.3% in the 2009 County Council election.[13] He gained 2.01% of the vote as the lead candidate for the East of England region in the 2009 European election.[14]
By 2006, the English Democrats, based in Norwich and chaired by Tilbrook, had adopted the policies of campaigning for a devolved English parliament, opposing membership of the European Union, opposing further immigration, and wishing to make St George's Day a national holiday.[15]
Tilbrook said of the English Democrats in 2006 that the party "agitates for anyone living in England" and that Englishness was "akin to American notions of "Americanness": that you can be from any ethnic background and still wrap yourself in the flag."[16] In the same year, he criticised spending on St Patrick's Day in London and added that too little was spent on St George's Day.[16] In 2009, he said, "We're hoping to do what the Scottish National Party managed to do in the 1970s and break through to being able to influence what happens in Parliament about England".[17] He argues that the money given by the UK to the EU is given to other parts of the country at the expense of England, which makes his party Eurosceptic.[18]
Tilbrook has reportedly had associations with the far-right. In 2013, he confirmed that a tenth of the English Democrats membership was former BNP members and stood by comments at the party's 10th annual conference in 2011 that BNP supporters will "help us become an electorally credible party".[19] In a 2015 interview with the BBC, Tilbrook confirmed that he had had meetings with groups on the far-right and far-left.[20] This meeting was reportedly organised by the then leader of Britain First, Jim Dowson, and attended by members of the English Defence League.[21] In 2023, it was reported that activists from Patriotic Alternative, a neo-Nazi party, had canvased for him in the Epping Forest District Council elections.[22]
Tilbrook has adopted a pro-Brexit stance, claiming that the United Kingdom had left the European Union on 29 March 2019. He reasoned that Theresa May had the authority to begin Britain's two-year withdrawal process from the European Union, but did not have the power to amend it, meaning that the extension granted by Brussels until 31 October 2019 was unlawful.[23] The case, however, was rejected for a hearing on the grounds of lack of legal merit and cannot lead to a conclusion that the UK left the EU on 29 March 2019,[24] but has been appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Personal life
editTilbrook is the elder son of the late Brigadier Thomas William Tilbrook, Queen's Royal Irish Hussars, by his marriage to Jacqueline Mackillican. In 1988, Tilbrook became engaged to Claire Breed.[25] They married and had three children. He is a member of the Church of England.[3]
Elections contested
editGeneral elections
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Epping Forest | English Democrats | 631 | 1.4[26] |
| 2010 | Brentwood and Ongar | English Democrats | 491 | 1.0[27] |
| 2015 | Brentwood and Ongar | English Democrats | 173 | 0.3[28] |
| 2017 | Clacton | English Democrats | 289 | 0.7[29] |
| 2019 | Brentwood and Ongar | English Democrats | 532 | 1.0[30] |
Police and Crime Commissioner
| Essex Police and Crime Commissioner election, 2012 [31][32] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round | |||||
| Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | |||||
| Conservative | Nick Alston | 51,325 | 30.5% | 11,025 | 62,350 | 51.5% |
| ||
| Independent | Mick Thwaites | 40,132 | 23.9% | 18,532 | 58,664 | 48.5% |
| ||
| Labour | Val Morris-Cook | 27,926 | 16.6% |
| |||||
| Independent | Linda Belgrove | 22,163 | 13.2% |
| |||||
| UKIP | Andrew Smith | 15,138 | 9.0% |
| |||||
| English Democrat | Robin Tilbrook | 11,550 | 6.9% |
| |||||
| Turnout | 168,234 | 12.8% | |||||||
| Rejected ballots | 3,452 | 2.0% | |||||||
| Total votes | 171,686 | 13.1 | |||||||
| Registered electors | 1,313,745 | ||||||||
| Conservative win | |||||||||
| Essex Constabulary Police and Crime Commissioner election, 2021 [33] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round | ||||
| Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | ||||
| Conservative | Roger Hirst | 235,346 | 54.0% |
| ||||
| Labour Co-op | Chris Vince | 80,832 | 22.9% |
| ||||
| Liberal Democrats | John Whitehouse | 58,131 | 13.3% |
| ||||
| English Democrat | Robin Tilbrook | 42,831 | 9.8% |
| ||||
| Total votes | 436,020 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Roger Hirst | 126,447 | 37.1 |  16.9
| |||
| Labour Co-op | Adam Fox | 116,875 | 34.3 |  11.4
| |||
| Liberal Democrats | Kieron Franks | 52,922 | 15.5 | 2.2
| |||
| English Democrat | Robin Tilbrook | 44,909 | 13.2 | 3.4
| |||
| Total votes | 341,153 | ||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Law Society registration, Robin Charles William Tilbrook
- ^ Boothroyd, David (2001). Politico's guide to the history of British political parties. Politico's. ISBN 1-902301-59-5.
- "English Democrats' 'long game'". BBC News. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2009. - ^ a b c "National Executive Officers". The English Democrats. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ^ "Our team". English Democrats. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ^ Waterlow's Solicitors' and Barristers' Directory 2003 (Waterlow Information Services Limited, 2003), p. 399
- ^ a b c Tobin, Edmund (10 June 2009). "ONGAR: English Democrats leader hails election success". East London and West Essex Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ^ "Landlord loses St George's Day battle". The Guardian. Press Association. 28 November 2005. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ^ Robin Tilbrook made Freeman of the City at voteenglish.org
- ^ Sparrow, Andrew (18 September 2002). "New party seeks English parliament". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ^ "English Democrats Party". Register of political parties. The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 14 December 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ^ "Parliamentary and County Council Elections". Epping Forest District Council. 2005. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ^ "District Election Results 3 May 2007". Epping Forest District Council. 4 May 2007. Archived from the original on 3 May 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ^ Tobin, Edmund (5 June 2009). "EPPING FOREST: Live election results". East London and West Essex Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ^ "European elections 2009: Eastern region". Daily Telegraph. June 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- Wheeler, Brian (20 May 2009). "Democrats 'putting England first'". BBC News. Retrieved 6 December 2009. - ^ Searchlight, Issues 367-378 (2006), p. 57
- ^ a b Rice-Oxley, Mark (30 June 2006). "In a 'green and pleasant land,' English nationalism stirs". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ^ "English Democrats eye 120 seats". BBC News. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- "Democrats want to be 'English SNP'". Daily Politics. BBC News. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009. - ^ "English 'lose out to rest of UK'". BBC News. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ^ "English Democrats: Robin Tilbrook on ex-BNP members". BBC News. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ "English Democrat Robin Tilbrook on 'independent state'". BBC News. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ "English Democrats Link Up With Thugs & Nazis". Hope Not Hate. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ "Local Elections 2023: Far Right, Far Off". Hope Not Hate. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ Clews, David (27 June 2019). "SHOCK as Robin Tilbrook EU case THROWN OUT by Judge". Unity News Network. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Weaknesses of the 'Exit Day' Legal Challenge Exposed". End The Chaos. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ "Miss Claire Breed" in Country Life, Volume 182 (1988), p. 145: "Miss Claire Breed, youngest daughter of the late Mr John Breed, and of Mrs Breed, of The Oaks, Pevensey, East Sussex, is to be married to Mr Robin Tilbrook, elder son of Brigadier and Mrs Tom Tilbrook, of Pond Farm, Little Cornard, Sudbury, Suffolk."
- ^ Politics resources: UK General Election results May 2005 and Election Candidates
- ^ BBC News Election 2010 results and The Guardian: "How Britain voted" supplement, 8 May 2010
- ^ BBC News Election 2015 Brentwood & Ongar
- ^ BBC News Election 2017 Clacton
- ^ "Brentwood & Ongar Parliamentary constituency", BBC News, 13 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ "Election of a Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex on Thursday 15 November 2012 Announcement of Result of Poll" (PDF). Chelmsford City Council.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "ITV News". Itv.com. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- ^ "Essex County results for the Essex Police Fire and Crime Commissioner elections 2021". Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election results". Colchester City Council. Retrieved 9 May 2024.