Richard Townshend Coke (born 1 February 1954), known as Toby Coke and as Richard Toby Coke, is an English landowner and

forester A forester is a person who practises forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests to ...

who served as leader of the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

group on

Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich. Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Distr ...

from 2013 until 2017. Born at Weasenham, near

Great Massingham Great Massingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It has a primary school (including a pre-school in the grounds), a village shop, a pub (Dabbling Duck), a village hall and a church (St Mary's). There is also a spor ...

in Norfolk, Coke is the elder son of Major Richard Lovel Coke (1918–2001) and Molly (''née'' Fletcher), a daughter of Walter Townshend Fletcher.Charles Mosley, ed., ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'' (107th edition, 2003), vol. 1, page 641; vol. 2, p. 2289 His father was a grandson of

Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester Thomas William Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester (26 December 1822 – 24 January 1909), known as Viscount Coke from 1837 to 1842, was a British peer. Background Leicester was the son of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, by his second wife Lady ...

(1822–1909). He was educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, and ...

and Sandhurst and commissioned into the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

. After four years in the army, he followed a financial services career in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

, before going to work in Canada and the United States. He returned to Norfolk to run the family estate, which consists largely of woodland, and now operates a training course at the Weasenham estate called "Extreeme Adventure."''Quarterly Journal of Forestry'', vols. 98-99 (2004), p. 299Richard Coke profile
at edp24.co.uk, accessed 4 October 2013 A

climate change denier Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or the ...

, Coke has said he is At the Norfolk County Council election on 2 May 2013, Coke was elected to represent the Gayton and Nar Valley

electoral division An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

and a few days later was chosen as leader of the county council's UKIP group of fifteen councillors, making him "leader of the opposition".Deborah McGurran
UKIP selects leader of the opposition in Norfolk
dated 8 May 2010 at bbc.co.uk, accessed 4 October 2013 He stood down from his seat at the

2017 Norfolk County Council election The 2017 Norfolk County Council election took place on 4 May 2017 as part of the 2017 local elections in the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party won control of the council from No Overall Control. All three major parties made gains at the ...

. Coke unsuccessfully contested

Mid Norfolk Mid Norfolk is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2010 by George Freeman (po ...

for UKIP in 2010Ruth Northey, ed., ''Whitaker's Almanack 2012'' (2011), p. 167 and

North West Norfolk North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

for UKIP in 2015. He commented that before 2010 he had no involvement in politics apart from "dabbling in parish politics".

Private life

On 19 November 1996 in the United States, Coke married Carrie-Lee Early, an attorney, the daughter of Neil Early, of New York.

Notes

External links

Richard Toby Coke
at norfolk.gov.uk (official web site) {{DEFAULTSORT:Coke, Richard Toby 1954 births Richard Toby Councillors in Norfolk Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Living people Members of Norfolk County Council People educated at Radley College People from Breckland District Scots Guards officers 21st-century English landowners English foresters UK Independence Party councillors UK Independence Party parliamentary candidates Military personnel from Norfolk