We're at around 5400 ft in the eastern edge of Wyoming mountains, so climate here isn't at all like that in southeast part of England . . . except, perhaps, that in both areas the snow sometimes falls in liquid form (less common here than there) and the sky is sometimes blue with a shiny round yellow thing in it (more common here than there).
But we do share that many good varieties of tomatoes are grown here only by those who lack the sense to realize that it is impossible to grow good tomatoes in this climate.
One idea that you *might* find helpful is that I've had some success with growing some of the longer season larger tomatoes outside when they're in their second year. That is, starting them mid to late one year, in pots, wintering them inside -- trying to just keep them alive with minimum growth, not trying to make them too happy -- setting the pots outside on warm spring days when they begin (which is probably much earlier there than here), and planting them outside when ground is warm. This has sometimes produced a long season big fruit plant -- Brandywine type, for example -- that has a vigorous and productive summer.
I don't have enough data to have firm, or even semi-jelled, conclusions -- but roughly half the plants I've tried this with have survived the winter and had reasonably productive summers. It *might* be true that potato leaf plants do better with this routine -- though I've had RLs that did fine. It does seem to be true that even a plant that looks pretty discouraged after the winter, as long as it is putting out a little bit of growth, can explode into productive growth when planted out in warm ground.
Something to consider trying, anyway -- if only to compare performance in your area to that of freshly started long season big fruited tomatoes planted out at the same time.
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