Ivor Stanbrook

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Ivor Robert Stanbrook (13 January 1924 – 18 February 2004) was a British Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament for Orpington from 1970–1992.

As the member for Orpington he introduced a private members bill called the Bromley London Borough (Crystal Palace) Bill.

Stanbrook was born in Willesden, north London, to a laundry manager. He was educated at Willesden high school, leaving at 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. Stanbrook trained in the Royal Air Force 1942-46, but never saw war action. He took on postgraduate study at Pembroke College, Oxford then left for Nigeria in 1950 where he worked for ten years in the civil service.

Stanbrook was called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1960 and practised criminal law, including as a night lawyer for the Daily Express. He became active in the Conservative Party's youth and student wings and stood for Parliament in the safe Labour seat of East Ham in 1966. In 1970 he won back Orpington for the Conservatives by 1,332 votes, a seat which had been lost to the Liberals in a by-election some years before.

Stanbrook was largely a right-wing reactionary, opposing unions, immigration and sex education, but also apartheid and racism. He supported Europe and became disillusioned with Margaret Thatcher's leadership, voting for Michael Heseltine in the vote that brought her down. He stepped down in 1992 and studied for a PhD at the University of East Anglia.

Stanbrook was married to Joan and had two sons.