Ivor Stanbrook
Encyclopedia
Ivor Robert Stanbrook was a British
Conservative
party politician and barrister. He represented Orpington
as its Member of Parliament from 1970 to 1992.
, North London
, the son of a laundry manager within the family business, the Sunlight Laundry. He was educated at Willesden High School, leaving at age 15, and became a legal assistant at Wembley Council, while taking a part-time degree in economics and law at Birkbeck College
, University of London
. He qualified as a pilot in 1943 and served with the RAF between 1943 and 1946. He completed postgraduate study at Pembroke College, Oxford
then left for Nigeria
in 1950 where he worked for ten years in the Colonial Service
as District Officer in various regions of Northern and Western Nigeria, including Ilorin
, Western Region
. On his return, he was called to the bar at Inner Temple
in 1960 and practised criminal law, and was also was a night lawyer for the Daily Express
.
elections of 1966 he contested, unsuccessfully, as a Conservative candidate
the safe Labour
seat of East Ham South
. He successfully won Orpington
with a majority of 1,332, a seat that had been lost to the Liberals
in 1962
For more than two decades he was a combative and chronically rebellious backbencher, a man who knew his own mind and spoke it, and who was often critical of his own front bench. He was a member of the 92 Group
and was regarded as being well to the right in the Conservative Party, but it is probably fairer to categorise him as a traditionalist, and the positions he took were not altogether predictable.
Described by Matthew Parris
as the "very hammer of lawlessness and crime", Stanbrook served on the Parliamentary Select Committee for Home Affairs from 1983 to 1991, but was blocked from becoming its chairman in 1987 by the Labour MPs on the committee. He was a leading member of the Conservative backbench committees on Home Affairs and Northern Ireland and chaired the Conservative backbench Constitutional Committee.
Less predictably, except to those who knew his earlier career, he took the chair in 1987 of the newly created all-party anti-apartheid group, to counter the activities of the pro-South Africa
n committee led by his Conservative colleague John Carlisle. He was critical of Margaret Thatcher
for appearing to condemn sanctions more than she condemned apartheid and refused to criticise the African National Congress
for resorting to violence. He backed the attempt of the Eminent Persons Group to end apartheid and subsequently urged that sanctions should be strengthened, arguing that the South Africans had no intention of changing and that they could only be induced to do so by pressure, and backed their continuance in 1990.
It was not the only issue where he was at odds with Thatcher. Stanbrook had supported entry into the EEC
in 1971 and he remained a passionate European. He was critical of the use of the whips against Sir Anthony Meyer
's leadership challenge and in March 1990 proclaimed that Michael Heseltine
was the best alternative to Thatcher: he had "dynamism, style and a softer image". He backed Heseltine's leadership challenge in November 1990 and continued to support him in the second ballot. As a result, he faced efforts to deselect him in Orpington and these probably played some part in his decision not to fight another election.
In 1979 he had argued that the BBC
should be prosecuted under the prevention-of-terrorism legislation and he remained an advocate of banning Sinn Féin
and for taking a tough line with terrorists.
Although a staunch European, Stanbrook also valued the Commonwealth
and never ceased to urge the need to help Africa resolve its problems. He was appalled by the thought that Europe had food surpluses while parts of Africa were wracked by famine. His support for strict control of immigration was accompanied by a rooted hostility to racism.
Served as the secretary of the Home Affairs Committee from 1974 to 1977, as its vice-chairman, 1979–82, and as the secretary, 1979–81, vice-chairman, 1981–89, and chairman, 1990–91, of the Northern Ireland Committee. He also chaired the Constitutional Committee from 1984 until he stood down from Parliament and served as chairman of the Nigerian (1979–92), Zambian (1983–92) and Zimbabwean (1983) parliamentary groups. He had founded the British-Nigeria Association in 1961.
'A man of singular energy, invariably polite and quietly spoken, he could be sharp of tongue and often found brutal phrases in which to express his strong convictions. But the private man belied the public image. Colleagues described a much more considerate, even gentle figure, revelling in books and music, pleasant and amusing. Too rebellious perhaps ever to become a minister, he nevertheless left an ineffaceable mark on the parliamentary life of his time.' John Barnes for The Independent.
. Sophie is currently managing Ben Gummer's conservative election campaign in Ipswich, Suffolk and was recently shortlisted for the constituency of Suffolk Coastal. Ivor is an architect based in the Turks & Caicos Islands and Isabella is at the University in Bristol. Lionel's children are Jessie, Ella and Gwen.
which he obtained in 1995.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
party politician and barrister. He represented Orpington
Orpington
Orpington is a suburban town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley. It forms the southeastern edge of London's urban sprawl and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
as its Member of Parliament from 1970 to 1992.
Biography and early life
Stanbrook was born in WillesdenWillesden
Willesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross...
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, the son of a laundry manager within the family business, the Sunlight Laundry. He was educated at Willesden High School, leaving at age 15, and became a legal assistant at Wembley Council, while taking a part-time degree in economics and law at Birkbeck College
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. He qualified as a pilot in 1943 and served with the RAF between 1943 and 1946. He completed postgraduate study at Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2009, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £44.9 million.-History:...
then left for Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
in 1950 where he worked for ten years in the Colonial Service
Colonial Service
The Colonial Service was the British government service which administered Britain's colonies and protectorates, under the authority of the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Colonial Office in London....
as District Officer in various regions of Northern and Western Nigeria, including Ilorin
Ilorin
Ilorin is one of the largest cities in Nigeria and is the capital of Kwara State. As of 2007 it had a population of 847,582.-History:Ilorin was founded by the Yoruba, one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, in 1450...
, Western Region
Western Region, Nigeria
The Western Region was a subdivision of the federation of Nigeria until 1967. Its capital was at Ibadan.It was established in the 1930s under British rule as a subdivision of the Southern Nigeria colony...
. On his return, he was called to the bar at Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1960 and practised criminal law, and was also was a night lawyer for the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
.
Political career
In the ParliamentaryParliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
elections of 1966 he contested, unsuccessfully, as a Conservative candidate
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
the safe Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
seat of East Ham South
East Ham South (UK Parliament constituency)
East Ham South was a parliamentary constituency centred on the East Ham district of London, which was in Essex until 1965. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.- History :The...
. He successfully won Orpington
Orpington (UK Parliament constituency)
Orpington is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
with a majority of 1,332, a seat that had been lost to the Liberals
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
in 1962
For more than two decades he was a combative and chronically rebellious backbencher, a man who knew his own mind and spoke it, and who was often critical of his own front bench. He was a member of the 92 Group
92 Group
The 92 Group is a right-wing grouping within the British Conservative Party. They are so named because they used to meet at Conservative MP Sir Patrick Wall's home, 92 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea....
and was regarded as being well to the right in the Conservative Party, but it is probably fairer to categorise him as a traditionalist, and the positions he took were not altogether predictable.
Described by Matthew Parris
Matthew Parris
Matthew Francis Parris is a UK-based journalist and former Conservative politician.-Early life and family:...
as the "very hammer of lawlessness and crime", Stanbrook served on the Parliamentary Select Committee for Home Affairs from 1983 to 1991, but was blocked from becoming its chairman in 1987 by the Labour MPs on the committee. He was a leading member of the Conservative backbench committees on Home Affairs and Northern Ireland and chaired the Conservative backbench Constitutional Committee.
Less predictably, except to those who knew his earlier career, he took the chair in 1987 of the newly created all-party anti-apartheid group, to counter the activities of the pro-South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n committee led by his Conservative colleague John Carlisle. He was critical of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
for appearing to condemn sanctions more than she condemned apartheid and refused to criticise the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
for resorting to violence. He backed the attempt of the Eminent Persons Group to end apartheid and subsequently urged that sanctions should be strengthened, arguing that the South Africans had no intention of changing and that they could only be induced to do so by pressure, and backed their continuance in 1990.
It was not the only issue where he was at odds with Thatcher. Stanbrook had supported entry into the EEC
EEC
EEC is an abbreviation that usually refers to the European Economic Community, the forerunner to the European Union.It may also refer to;* The East Erie Commercial Railroad, a shortline in Pennsylvania...
in 1971 and he remained a passionate European. He was critical of the use of the whips against Sir Anthony Meyer
Anthony Meyer
Sir Anthony John Charles Meyer, 3rd Baronet was a British soldier, diplomat, and Conservative and later Liberal Democrat politician, best known for standing against Margaret Thatcher for the party leadership in 1989...
's leadership challenge and in March 1990 proclaimed that Michael Heseltine
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
was the best alternative to Thatcher: he had "dynamism, style and a softer image". He backed Heseltine's leadership challenge in November 1990 and continued to support him in the second ballot. As a result, he faced efforts to deselect him in Orpington and these probably played some part in his decision not to fight another election.
In 1979 he had argued that the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
should be prosecuted under the prevention-of-terrorism legislation and he remained an advocate of banning Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
and for taking a tough line with terrorists.
Although a staunch European, Stanbrook also valued the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
and never ceased to urge the need to help Africa resolve its problems. He was appalled by the thought that Europe had food surpluses while parts of Africa were wracked by famine. His support for strict control of immigration was accompanied by a rooted hostility to racism.
Served as the secretary of the Home Affairs Committee from 1974 to 1977, as its vice-chairman, 1979–82, and as the secretary, 1979–81, vice-chairman, 1981–89, and chairman, 1990–91, of the Northern Ireland Committee. He also chaired the Constitutional Committee from 1984 until he stood down from Parliament and served as chairman of the Nigerian (1979–92), Zambian (1983–92) and Zimbabwean (1983) parliamentary groups. He had founded the British-Nigeria Association in 1961.
'A man of singular energy, invariably polite and quietly spoken, he could be sharp of tongue and often found brutal phrases in which to express his strong convictions. But the private man belied the public image. Colleagues described a much more considerate, even gentle figure, revelling in books and music, pleasant and amusing. Too rebellious perhaps ever to become a minister, he nevertheless left an ineffaceable mark on the parliamentary life of his time.' John Barnes for The Independent.
Family life
Stanbrook was married to Joan (née Clement) from 1946 until her death in 2000. Of his two sons, Clive Stanbrook is a lawyer and Lionel Stanbrook a communications strategist. He had seven grandchildren. Clive's children are Fleur, Sophie, Ivor and Isabella. Former newspaper editor and theologian Fleur is the wife of American popular musician Ben FoldsBen Folds
Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
. Sophie is currently managing Ben Gummer's conservative election campaign in Ipswich, Suffolk and was recently shortlisted for the constituency of Suffolk Coastal. Ivor is an architect based in the Turks & Caicos Islands and Isabella is at the University in Bristol. Lionel's children are Jessie, Ella and Gwen.
Later life
For a decade after 1980 he became a partner in Stanbrook and Hooper, the European law firm based in Brussels and founded by his son Clive. He gave up the legal profession in 1990 and, after his retirement from Parliament, concentrated on studying for a doctorate from the University of East AngliaUniversity of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
which he obtained in 1995.