Robert Brannock Jones (26 September 1950 – 16 April 2007) was a Conservative Party politician in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for West Hertfordshire for its 14-year existence, from its creation in 1983 until it was abolished in 1997. He served as Minister of State for Construction, Planning and Energy Efficiency in the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

from 1994 to 1997.

Early life

Jones was born in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

. His father was a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

. He was educated at St Martin's School in Northwood and the

Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Merchant Taylors' School is an 11–18 boys Public school (United Kingdom), public day school, founded in 1561 in London. The school has occupied various campuses. From 1933 it has been at Sandy Lodge, a site close to Northwood, London, Nort ...

. He read Modern History at

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

, where he was a student politician. He organised the

student union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...

to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students. While still a student, he was elected as a member of

St Andrews Burgh Council St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

from 1972 to 1975, and of

Fife County Council Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council area and lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the south, Perth and Kinross to the west and Clackmannanshire t ...

from 1973 to 1975. He was also elected vice-chairman of the

Federation of Conservative Students The Federation of Conservative Students (FCS) was the student organisation of the British Conservative Party from the late 1940s to 1986. It was created to act as a bridge between the student movement and the Conservative Party. It produced seve ...

in 1973. Aged only 24, he stood as Conservative candidate for

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

in the October 1974 general election, losing to the incumbent Labour MP

Harry Gourlay Harry Philip Heggie Gourlay (10 July 1916 – 20 April 1987) was a Scottish Labour Party politician. Gourlay was educated at Kirkcaldy High School and was a vehicles examiner. He served as a councillor on Kirkcaldy Town Council and Fife County ...

. Jones became a marketing executive at Tay Textiles in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, and returned to England to become Head of Research at the

National House Building Council The National House Building Council (NHBC), established in 1936, is the UK's largest provider of new home warranties. NHBC is also the UK's largest single Approved Inspector for Building Regulations. Other activities include the provision of se ...

from 1976 to 1978. He then worked as parliamentary adviser to the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors, and spent time working on housing policy at

Conservative Central Office The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...

. He was a member of

Chiltern District Council Chiltern can refer to the following places: In England: * Chiltern Hills, an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, known locally as "the Chilterns" ** Chiltern District, a local government district in Buckinghamshire named after the hills ** Chiltern ...

from 1979 to 1983, and contested

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

in the 1979 general election: the safe Labour seat was retained by the sitting MP Bill Rodgers. He wrote ''The Ratepayers Defence Manual'' in 1980. He was Vice-President of the Association of District Councils from 1983 to 1994.

Parliamentary career

Jones was finally elected at the

1983 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1983. Africa * 1983 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1983 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1983 Kenyan general election * 1983 Malagasy parliamentary election * 1983 Malawian general elec ...

as Member of Parliament for the newly created seat of West Hertfordshire, a constituency which largely comprised the town of

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...

Nicholas Lyell Nicholas Walter Lyell, Baron Lyell of Markyate, PC, QC (6 December 1938 – 30 August 2010) was a British Conservative Party politician, known for much of his active political career as Sir Nicholas Lyell. Early life Born in London, he was t ...

, the sitting Conservative MP for the predecessor seat of

, moved to the safe seat of Mid Bedfordshire to avoid an expected defeat. Strong support for the SDP pushed the Labour candidate,

Paul Boateng Paul Yaw Boateng, Baron Boateng, (born 14 June 1951) is a British Labour Party politician, a former civil rights lawyer and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent South from 1987 to 2005, becoming the UK's first Black Cabinet Minister in M ...

, into third place allowing Jones to win comfortably. Jones was a proponent of the

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

, associated with the

Adam Smith Institute The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) is a UK-based neoliberal think tank and lobbying group, named after Adam Smith, a Scottish moral philosopher and classical economist. The Institute advocates free market and classical liberal ideas, primarily ...

and a member of the

No Turning Back No or NO may refer to: Linguistics and symbols * ''Yes'' and ''no'', responses * No, an English determiner in noun phrases * No (kana) (, ), a letter/syllable in Japanese script * No symbol (🚫), the general prohibition sign * Numero sign ( or ...

group, but he called for steps to address pollution as early as 1984. He served on the Commons environment select committee from 1983 to 1994, as its chairman from 1992 to 1994. He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the junior transport ministers

Michael Spicer William Michael Hardy Spicer, Baron Spicer, (22 January 1943 – 29 May 2019) was a British politician and life peer who was a Conservative member of the House of Lords from 2010 until 2019. He served as Member of Parliament for West Worces ...

and

Peter Bottomley Sir Peter James Bottomley (born 30 July 1944) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1975 until 2024, last representing Worthing West. First elected at a by-election for the former consti ...

in 1986. His appointment as a government minister was delayed until July 1994, when

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

appointed him as a

junior minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry (government department), ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is desi ...

in the

. He was promoted to Minister of State for Construction, Planning and Energy Efficiency in 1995, remaining in that office until 1997. His parliamentary constituency was abolished by boundary changes in 1997. He stood for the seat that replaced it, Hemel Hempstead, in the 1997 general election, but lost to the

Labour Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an el ...

candidate,

Tony McWalter Joseph Anthony McWalter, generally known as Tony McWalter, (born 20 March 1945 in Worksop) is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Labour Party and Co-operative Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead between 1997 and 2005. Early ...

After Parliament

After leaving Parliament, Jones joined

Redrow plc Redrow plc was one of the largest British housebuilders with a network of 12 operational divisions across the UK. It was based in Flintshire, Wales and employed 2,300 people. In October 2024, its merger with Barratt Developments was finalised an ...

, a

FTSE 250 The Financial Times Stock Exchange 250 Index, also called the FTSE 250 Index, FTSE 250, or, informally, the "Footsie 250" , is a stock market index that consists of the 101st to the 350th mid-cap blue chip companies listed on the London Stock ...

listed construction firm, as a non-executive director in 1997, serving as its chairman from 2000 to March 2007. He was also a non-executive director of

retail park A retail park is a type of shopping centre found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in the United Kingdom and other European countries. Retail parks form a key aspect of European retail geographies, alongside indoor shopping centres, ...

operator

Freeport plc Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Freeport, name of several space stations in the video game ''Freelancer'' (2003) * Freeport, a fictional town in the video game ''SiN'' (1998) * ''Freeport: The Cit ...

from 1998. He was also a vice-president of the Wildlife Trust, a

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, and a

Liveryman A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the "Wors ...

of the

Merchant Taylors' Company The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prior to 1300, first in ...

Death

Jones died in

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked ...

from

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

aged 56. He was survived by his wife, Jenny Sandercock. She served as Mayor of Tring while he was an MP.

References

*''

Times Guide to the House of Commons ''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'' is a political reference guide book published by Times Newspapers giving coverage of general elections in the United Kingdom. Following most general elections since 1880, the book has been published. T ...

'', Times Newspapers Limited, 1997
Obituary
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 18 April 2007
Obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 18 April 2007
Obituary
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 18 April 2007
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 19 April 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Robert 1950 births 2007 deaths People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Alumni of the University of St Andrews Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Scottish Conservative councillors Councillors in Buckinghamshire Deaths from liver cancer in England Conservative Party (UK) councillors