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
DeputyNone
Personal details
Born (1958-04-08) 8 April 1958 (age 66)
Kuala Lumpur, Federation of Malaya
Political partyEnglish Democrats
(2002–present)
Conservative Party
(prior to 1997)

Early life

edit

Tilbrook 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

edit

Tilbrook 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

edit

Tilbrook 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

edit

General 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
2024 Essex police, fire and crime commissioner election[34]
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

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Law Society registration, Robin Charles William Tilbrook
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c "National Executive Officers". The English Democrats. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  4. ^ "Our team". English Democrats. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  5. ^ Waterlow's Solicitors' and Barristers' Directory 2003 (Waterlow Information Services Limited, 2003), p. 399
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "Landlord loses St George's Day battle". The Guardian. Press Association. 28 November 2005. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  8. ^ Robin Tilbrook made Freeman of the City at voteenglish.org
  9. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (18 September 2002). "New party seeks English parliament". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  10. ^ "English Democrats Party". Register of political parties. The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 14 December 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  11. ^ "Parliamentary and County Council Elections". Epping Forest District Council. 2005. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ Tobin, Edmund (5 June 2009). "EPPING FOREST: Live election results". East London and West Essex Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ Searchlight, Issues 367-378 (2006), p. 57
  16. ^ a b Rice-Oxley, Mark (30 June 2006). "In a 'green and pleasant land,' English nationalism stirs". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "English 'lose out to rest of UK'". BBC News. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  19. ^ "English Democrats: Robin Tilbrook on ex-BNP members". BBC News. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  20. ^ "English Democrat Robin Tilbrook on 'independent state'". BBC News. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  21. ^ "English Democrats Link Up With Thugs & Nazis". Hope Not Hate. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  22. ^ "Local Elections 2023: Far Right, Far Off". Hope Not Hate. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  23. ^ Clews, David (27 June 2019). "SHOCK as Robin Tilbrook EU case THROWN OUT by Judge". Unity News Network. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  24. ^ "Weaknesses of the 'Exit Day' Legal Challenge Exposed". End The Chaos. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  25. ^ "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."
  26. ^ Politics resources: UK General Election results May 2005 and Election Candidates
  27. ^ BBC News Election 2010 results and The Guardian: "How Britain voted" supplement, 8 May 2010
  28. ^ BBC News Election 2015 Brentwood & Ongar
  29. ^ BBC News Election 2017 Clacton
  30. ^ "Brentwood & Ongar Parliamentary constituency", BBC News, 13 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  31. ^ "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]
  32. ^ "ITV News". Itv.com. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  33. ^ "Essex County results for the Essex Police Fire and Crime Commissioner elections 2021". Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  34. ^ "Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election results". Colchester City Council. Retrieved 9 May 2024.