Ronald Henry Atkins (13 June 1916 – 30 December 2020) was a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Preston North for two terms: from

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

until

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, and from February 1974 until

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. His career in British politics spanned nearly sixty years, from 1951 to 2010, including several decades as a councillor in local government, and nine as a Member of Parliament. A member of the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...

, Atkins took part in the

Aldermaston marches The Aldermaston marches were anti-nuclear weapons demonstrations in the 1950s and 1960s, taking place on Easter weekend between the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire, England, and London, over a distance of fifty-t ...

, opposed the American war in Vietnam, and was a member of the

Tribune group ''Tribune'' is a democratic socialist political magazine founded in 1937 and published in London, initially as a newspaper, then converting to a magazine in 2001. While it is independent, it has usually supported the Labour Party from the left. ...

of left-wing Labour MPs. He also supported the campaigns by

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

and

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

to lead the Labour Party. In the course of his career, Atkins helped bring a polytechnic educational facility to Preston, which later became the

University of Central Lancashire The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...

(UCLan). From 2018 until his death, he was the oldest living former MP. He also became the longest-lived British MP with a registered date of birth, surviving to the age of 104.

Early life and career

Atkins was born into a large Noncomformist family on 13 June 1916 in

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, the son of Frank Atkins, a master butcher, and his wife Elizabeth (nee Bryant). He grew up on a

smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

, and was educated at Barry Grammar School. Atkins suffered greatly from

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by patches of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small localized patches to complete b ...

, which led him to start working rather than going to university. He attended

Southampton University The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in the United K ...

, but his studies were interrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, as well as his condition. He tried to improve his health in order to enter the armed forces by eating a carrot-only diet for more than a month. Eventually, he volunteered for industrial war work as a chief greaser with a chemical company in Barry, where he organised the company's first

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

branch. The poverty he saw in the port town inspired him to join the Labour Party. He later said "I've been a union man and a socialist all my life." Atkins worked as a teacher from 1949 onwards. Having qualified as a teacher at

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, he taught at a college of

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...

. Atkins also became a tutor and lecturer for the

National Council of Labour Colleges The National Council of Labour Colleges (NCLC) was an organisation set up in the United Kingdom to foster independent working class education. The organisation was founded at a convention held in the Clarion Club House, Yardley, Birmingham on 8/9 ...

. He was head of English at

Halstead Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011Braintree,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. Whilst in Essex, Atkins became a councillor on

Braintree Rural District Braintree Rural District was a local government district in the county of Essex, England. Established under the Local Government Act of 1894, it served as an administrative division in the rural areas surrounding Braintree. History Braintree ...

Council, serving from 1952 to 1961. He was also on the Mid-Essex education committee of

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...

Parliamentary career

In 2016, Atkins recalled "I became an applicant to become an MP, but I thought it was hopeless because I was so left wing." He first contested the

marginal Marginal may refer to: * Marginal (album), ''Marginal'' (album), the third album of the Belgian rock band Dead Man Ray, released in 2001 * Marginal (manga), ''Marginal'' (manga) * ''El Marginal'', Argentine TV series * Marginal seat or marginal c ...

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

seat at the 1964 general election, but was unsuccessful. The outcome saw his party return to government with a slim majority; however, the presence of a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate in the

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

constituency (which had previously been a two-way contest) took votes from both Atkins and his

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 ...

rival

Jim Prior James Michael Leathes Prior, Baron Prior, (11 October 1927 – 12 December 2016) was a British Conservative Party politician. A Member of Parliament from 1959 to 1987, he represented the Suffolk constituency of Lowestoft until 1983 and then ...

. Labour

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

called an election in

, and greatly increased his party's majority. Among the Labour gains was Atkins winning the marginal Preston North in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, unseating the Conservative former minister

Julian Amery Harold Julian Amery, Baron Amery of Lustleigh, (27 March 1919 – 3 September 1996) was a British Conservative Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 39 of the 42 years between 1950 and 1992. He was appointed to the ...

. As a Member of Parliament, he lobbied Wilson for a new polytechnic institute of education in Preston, which lead to Preston Polytechnic being established in 1973; this, according to the ''Lancashire Post'', was "one of his proudest moments". Atkins also successfully campaigned to save the Preston to

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

, which was under threat of closure. During this period, he chaired the all-party retirement group, who fought for early retirement, in 1967 presenting a petition to Parliament for voluntary male retirement at 60, which was signed by more than a million people. He also supported Liberal MP

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood (born 31 March 1938) is a retired Scottish politician. Elected as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (UK Parliament constituency), Roxb ...

's abortion bill, which did not go down well with Preston's large Catholic population. He thought this may have cost him his seat at the subsequent 1970 general election: Atkins lost to the Conservative candidate Mary Holt, and Labour were out of power. Following this, he lectured at

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

College of Further Education until 1974, a year which saw two general elections take place. At the February 1974 election, Atkins won back Preston North, defeating Mary Holt by a majority of just 255 votes (0.63%). Labour formed a minority government, and Atkins was back in Parliament. Harold Wilson called another election for October 1974, in the hope of securing a majority. Atkins was re-elected with an increased vote share, and Labour won the election with a small overall majority, on the back of a pledge to hold a referendum on Britain's recent entry to the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

(EEC). In common with the left of his party at the time, Atkins was opposed to membership of the EEC. The 1975 referendum, however, resulted in a wide margin of victory for the 'Yes' campaign. In 1976, Wilson stood down as prime minister, and in the resulting leadership election, Atkins helped organise left-winger

's campaign. At the time, the leadership was voted on solely by the

Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...

. Benn came fourth on the first ballot with 37 votes, and withdrew from the contest, which was won by the more moderate

Jim Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from ...

, who thus became prime minister. According to ''

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 ...

'', "Atkins never sought high political office and it was never offered – he settled for being a constituency MP." In 1979, following a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in the Labour government, another general election was held. The party lost on a decisive swing to the Conservatives, who won a comfortable majority. In a tight result which saw two recounts, Atkins was defeated by the (unrelated) Conservative candidate Robert Atkins, who won by just 29 votes (0.1%). Despite his name being mentioned in connection to winnable seats, Ronald Atkins did not stand for election to Parliament again.

Outside Parliament

In between his two terms in Parliament, Atkins stood for election to

Preston City Council The City of Preston, or simply ''Preston'' (), is a local government district with city status in Lancashire, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Ribble and has a population of (). The neighbouring districts are Ribble Valley, South ...

's Ward No. 5 (Preston: Ribbleton) in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

. He won a seat, serving until

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, by which time he had returned to 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 ...

. Following the loss of his parliamentary seat in 1979, Atkins stood for the Park ward in Preston, which he won comfortably. He supported Preston Polytechnic becoming Lancashire Polytechnic, which took place in 1984. His ward was abolished in boundary changes for the 1990 elections, and he instead stood in Avenham ward, which covered the central area of the town. The new boundaries meant that the whole council was up for election, rather than in thirds, as usually happened. In the multi-member ward, Atkins topped the poll, winning more votes than the two Labour candidates elected alongside him. In 1992, full university status was awarded to the Lancashire Polytechnic he had first lobbied for as Preston Polytechnic. That year, it became the University of Central Lancashire, which he had been "a powerful voice for". In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, the next set of boundary changes saw Atkins' ward abolished again, with him instead standing in the Town Centre ward, and receiving more votes than the two Labour candidates who were also elected. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, a year which saw poor performances by Labour in the local elections, Atkins fended off a strong challenge from the

Respect Party The Respect Party was a left-wing to far-left socialist political party active in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and nineteen ...

to retain his seat by just seven votes. He remained a Labour councillor 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 ...

, when he stood down; aged 93, he was the oldest member of the council. In August 2015, aged 99, during Jeremy Corbyn's leadership campaign, Atkins gave a speech introducing Corbyn at an event in Preston. Exclaiming "We love you!", he told the audience of several hundred people: "Jeremy Corbyn is not

New Labour New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid-late 1990s to 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the ...

he is ''Real'' Labour." He was made Honorary President of

Momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (: momenta or momentums; more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. ...

for Central Lancashire. Atkins voted to leave the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(which had succeeded the EEC) in the 2016 referendum, later declaring: "It wasn't because of immigrants. The most important thing is our sovereignty."

Personal life and death

In 1950, Atkins married Jesse Scott; the union ended in divorce in 1979. The couple had three sons and two twin daughters, Charlotte and Liz. At the two 1974 general elections, Atkins' stepson, Michael Atkins, contested Blackpool South, and Michael's wife, Kathleen E. Knight, stood in Fylde South, both as unsuccessful Labour candidates. His daughter, Charlotte Atkins, was the Labour 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 until 2010. Atkins married his second wife, Elizabeth Alison Wildgoose in 2012, who was more than forty years his junior, shortly after she was elected to Ashton ward on Preston council. The couple lived in

Frenchwood Avenham and Frenchwood are the central communities which make up the Town Centre ward of Preston City Council, in Lancashire, England. The name of the ward was chosen by the Boundary Committee for England prior to Preston being awarded city st ...

, Preston, with a dog, Rosie. His recreations were listed in ''Who's Who'' as "jazz, dancing, walking, local and national politics, connoisseur of good coffee"; he was an active

ballroom dancer Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and tel ...

to late in life. Following the death of John Freeman on 20 December 2014, Atkins became the oldest surviving former MP. He celebrated his 100th birthday in June 2016, attributing his long life to "good genes, an active lifestyle, and wild

Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...

" in his diet. Interviewed by the ''

Lancashire Post The ''Lancashire Post'' is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. Until 14 January 2017 it was known as the ''Lancashire Evening Post''. According to the British Library The British Library ...

'' to mark the occasion, he added there was "some luck too", noting, "I've escaped assassination as an MP." On 30 August 2018, Atkins became the longest-lived MP ever, surpassing Theodore Taylor's record. Atkins died at his home in Preston on 30 December 2020, at the age of 104. He was survived by Elizabeth, his daughters Charlotte and Liz, and his stepson Donald (from his first marriage). Upon his death, his widow Elizabeth, who was still a councillor, said "He was staunch Labour all his life and highly respected. He was a real guiding force; the Labour group in Preston called him 'the guru'."

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons 1979'' *

External links