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Robin Page (journalist)

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Robin Page (3 May 1943 – 27 May 2023) was an English farmer, conservationist and political activist, who worked as a journalist and television presenter.

Page farmed in Barton, Cambridgeshire where he was born, and his work focused on rural affairs.

Countryside Restoration Trust

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Page founded the CRT in 1993 with the late artist and conservationist, Gordon Beningfield. It promotes a "living" countryside including wildlife-friendly farming. By 2021, when Page's Executive Chairmanship of the CRT ended, it had developed into a nationwide chain of 18 small farms involved with principles of conservation of land, wildlife and farming.[1] As at 2021 Page continued to serve as a trustee.[2]

Later projects involving the CRT included an attempt in 2020 to buy a farm in the Lake District. This would have been a community-based project involving the Friends of the Lake District and the author and farmer James Rebanks.[3]

Media work

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Print

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Page was the author of numerous books, such as The Wildlife of the Royal Estates, 1984 (foreword by the Duke of Edinburgh) and The Hunting Gene, 2000 (foreword by Robin Hanbury-Tenison). These are mainly published by Bird's Farm Books based in Barton. Until 2016 he wrote a long-running column for The Daily Telegraph.[4]

His views about conservation were sometimes controversial, for example his call for blanket protection to be removed from birds of prey, on the premise that their population is unnaturally high, causing excessive destruction of many songbirds and other prey. According to BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham, a 2015 article by Page about raptors was "an idiotic, ill informed rant" by someone with "no qualified understanding of even basic ecology".[5]

Television

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In the 1990s he presented One Man and His Dog, a television show featuring sheepdog trials.[6]

Political career

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Page was elected to South Cambridgeshire District Council as an independent in 1972, holding his seat until he resigned in 2006.

Page stood as the Conservative Party candidate in Bethnal Green and Bow at the 1979 general election, finishing in third place. He stood as a Eurosceptic, campaigning for Britain to leave the EU, in South Cambridgeshire for the Referendum Party in the 1997 general election, then joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP), standing in the Winchester by-election later the same year, and again in South Cambridgeshire at the 2005 general election.[7]

Page resigned from UKIP after not being selected as a party candidate for the East of England constituency at the 2009 European Elections, Page claimed that the party's MEPs were part of a "gravy train", and that leader Nigel Farage dominated the party excessively.[8] He joined the UK First Party, and was the lead candidate on their list in the East of England.[6] The UK First Party disbanded in 2010 and in the 2010 United Kingdom general election he stood for a third time in South Cambridgeshire, as an independent.[9]

Allegations of racism

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In 2002, Page was arrested, based upon false allegations of inciting racial hatred in a speech he gave at a fair in Gloucestershire, but was later released as police were of the opinion that no crime had been committed. Page claimed that he was framed by Gloucestershire Police.[10] In 2008 Gloucestershire Police made a four-figure payment to Page for his wrongful arrest, conceding and compensating him for his complaint.[11]

In 2016 Page again attracted controversy by making remarks (which he dismissed as a joke) about deceiving immigrants into taking contraceptive drugs.[4]

Death

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Page died from pancreatic cancer on 27 May 2023, at the age of 80.[12][13]

Elections contested

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Date of election Constituency Party Votes %
1979 Bethnal Green and Bow Conservative 5,567 19.5
1997 South Cambridgeshire Referendum Party 3,300 6.1
1997 Winchester by-election Winchester UK Independence Party (UKIP) 521 1.0
2005 South Cambridgeshire UK Independence Party (UKIP) 1,556 3.0
2009 European Election East of England UK First Party 38,185 2.4
2010 South Cambridgeshire Independent 1,968 3.3

References

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  1. ^ "CRT website". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  2. ^ Watts, Nicholas (March 2021). "Trustee Statement". Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Dowthwaite Head Farm". Friends of the Lake District. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b Hurrell, Stephen (2016). "Robin Page sacked by The Telegraph, says country people are 'Britain's most endangered minority'". Cambridgeshire Live. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  5. ^ Mathiesen, Karl (12 May 2015). "Should we drop protections for birds of prey?". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b Elliot, Chris (14 April 2009). "Page to stand for Euro Parliament". Cambridge News. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  7. ^ "East of England Euros", UK Polling Report
  8. ^ Waterfield, Bruno (1 March 2009). "Ukip has been corrupted says Robin Page". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  9. ^ "South Cambridgeshire Candidates" Archived 6 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Shooting Politics, episode 4, 30th September 2009". fieldsportschannel.tv. Retrieved 29 October 2012.[dead YouTube link]
  11. ^ Stokes, Paul (15 January 2008). "Robin Page compensated over 'race' arrest". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  12. ^ O'Connor, Rachael (30 May 2023). "One Man And His Dog presenter Robin Page dies aged 80". Metro. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Robin Page obituary". The Times. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
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