Charlotte Jean Scott Atkins (born 24 September 1950) is a

British Labour Party The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been describe ...

politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Staffordshire Moorlands Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council is based in Leek, the district's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Biddulph and Cheadle, along with a large rural area containing ...

from

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

until

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Early life

Atkins is the daughter of Ron Atkins, the left wing former Labour MP for Preston North, and the longest-lived British MP ever. Atkins was educated at the

Colchester County High School Colchester County High School for Girls is a selective girls' grammar school with academy status in Colchester, Essex. The school consistently scores highly in the league tables for the UK. It was joint first in the country in the 2018 secondary ...

, and is a graduate of the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, gaining a BSc in Economics. From the University of London, she also gained an MA in Area Studies. She worked as a community relations officer with the

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

Community Research Council from 1974 to 1976, before joining the trade union movement. For four years she was a researcher with the UCATT union (from 1976 to 1980), then a researcher from 1980 to 1984 for the TASS and AUEW, before becoming a press officer for

UNISON Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

and

COHSE The Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) was a United Kingdom trade union representing workers primarily in the National Health Service. History The union was founded in 1946 with the merger of the Mental Hospital and Institutional ...

from 1984 to 1987. Atkins joined the Labour Party in 1965. In 1982, she was elected as a councillor in the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South West (London sub region), South West London, England. It forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main communities are Battersea, Balham, P ...

, and was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Group from 1983 to 1986. In 1981 she wrote a book with

Chris Mullin Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a five time NBA All-Star and four time All-NBA Team member. He is also two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time ...

entitled ''How to Select or Reselect Your MP''.

Parliamentary career

In 1990, Atkins unsuccessfully contested the Eastbourne by-election caused by the assassination of the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Ian Gow Ian Reginald Edward Gow (; 11 February 1937 – 30 July 1990) was a British politician and solicitor. As a member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastbourne from 1974, until he was assassinated in 1 ...

by the

Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

. She entered the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

at the 1997 general election in the Labour landslide as the Member of Parliament for

, a seat held previously by the retiring David Knox and which had been Conservative-held for 27 years. After the 2001 general election, Atkins was appointed a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

. She was promoted to

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. T ...

at the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...

in 2004, but was dropped after the 2005 general election. In July 2005 she became a member of the

Health Select Committee The Health and Social Care Select Committee (abbreviated to HSC, HSCC and HSCSC) is a Departmental Select Committee of the British House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament. Its remit is to examine the policy, administ ...

. Atkins was largely loyal to the Labour government during her time in Parliament and rarely rebelled. Atkins was vice-chair of the All-Party Hill Farmers Group, and took part in a series of

adjournment debate In the Westminster system, an adjournment debate is a debate on the motion, "That this House do now adjourn." In practice, this is a way of enabling the House to have a debate on a subject without considering a substantive motion. Types of deba ...

s on government funding for inland waterways. She is a volunteer for the Manchester-based British Fluoridisation Society. Atkins lost her seat at the 2010 general election to

Karen Bradley Dame Karen Anne Bradley (; born 12 March 1970) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Staffordshire Moorlands (UK Parliament cons ...

of the Conservative Party.

Post-parliamentary career

In March 2012, Atkins was appointed as the chair of the Central Shires Canal and River Trust Partnership Board. The CRT is the charity which has taken over the work and role of British Waterways. She was heavily involved in campaigning for more funds and the regeneration of England's waterways while in Parliament, and won the first ever Inland Waterways Association Parliamentarian of the Year Award in 2008. Atkins was elected as a councillor for the Leek North ward of

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south-east, the West Midlands cou ...

in a 2012 by-election, and continues to represent the ward until her defeat in 2025.

Personal life

She married Gus Brain in June 1990 in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

and has one child, Emma, born in October 1986. Her twin sister, Liz, is a Lambeth Councillor.

Publications

* ''How to Select or Reselect Your Member of Parliament'' by Chris Mullin and Charlotte Atkins, 1981, Institute of Workers' Control

References

External links

Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Charlotte Atkins MP

TheyWorkForYou.com – Charlotte Atkins MP

Official Website

IWA Parliamentarian of the Year

BBC Politics

News items

Claiming Labour wanted to ditch the council tax in 2005

Opening the Rearsby bypass in December 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Charlotte Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Councillors in the London Borough of Wandsworth Alumni of the London School of Economics 1950 births Living people People from Chelmsford Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies People educated at Colchester County High School 20th-century British women politicians 21st-century British women politicians 20th-century English women 20th-century English politicians 21st-century English women 21st-century English politicians Women councillors in England