Ronald Atkins facts for kids

Ronald Henry Atkins (born 13 June 1916 – died 30 December 2020) was a British politician from the Labour Party. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Preston North twice. First, he served from 1966 to 1970, and then again from February 1974 to 1979.

Ronald Atkins was involved in British politics for almost 60 years, from 1951 to 2010. He spent many years as a local councillor and nine years as an MP. He was a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which worked to stop the use of nuclear weapons. He also took part in the Aldermaston Marches, which were protests against nuclear weapons.

Atkins was against the American war in Vietnam. He was part of the Tribune group, a group of left-wing Labour MPs. He also supported Tony Benn and Jeremy Corbyn when they tried to become leaders of the Labour Party. During his time as an MP, Atkins helped bring a special college, called a polytechnic, to Preston. This college later became the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

From 2018 until he passed away, Ronald Atkins was the oldest living former MP. He also became the longest-lived British MP whose birth date was officially recorded. He lived to be 104 years old.

Early Life and Education

Ronald Atkins was born on 13 June 1916 in Barry, Glamorgan, Wales. He came from a large family that followed a type of Protestantism called Nonconformist. His father, Frank Atkins, was a butcher. Ronald grew up on a small farm.

He went to Barry Grammar School. Ronald had a skin condition called psoriasis, which was quite severe. This led him to start working instead of going straight to university. He did attend Southampton University, but his studies were stopped by the Second World War. He also tried to improve his health to join the armed forces.

During the war, he volunteered for industrial work at a chemical company in Barry. He became a chief greaser there. He also helped start the company's first trade union branch. Seeing the poverty in the port town made him want to join the Labour Party. He once said, "I've been a union man and a socialist all my life."

Ronald Atkins started working as a teacher in 1949. He became a qualified teacher at Birkbeck College, which is part of the University of London. He taught at a college that offered further education. He also taught for the National Council of Labour Colleges. Later, he was the head of English at Halstead secondary school in Braintree, Essex. While living in Essex, Atkins became a councillor on the Braintree Rural District Council. He served there from 1952 to 1961. He was also part of the education committee for Mid-Essex on the Essex County Council.

Becoming a Member of Parliament

In 2016, Ronald Atkins remembered, "I became an applicant to become an MP, but I thought it was hopeless because I was so left wing." He first tried to win the Lowestoft seat in the 1964 general election. This was a "marginal seat," meaning it could be won by either of the main parties. He did not win that time.

However, in the 1966 election, the Labour Party leader, Harold Wilson, called another election. Labour won more seats, and Ronald Atkins won the Preston North seat in Lancashire. He defeated the Conservative politician Julian Amery.

As an MP, he worked hard to get a new polytechnic college built in Preston. This led to Preston Polytechnic opening in 1973. The Lancashire Post newspaper said this was "one of his proudest moments." Atkins also successfully campaigned to save the Preston to Ormskirk railway line, which was planned to close. He also chaired a group that fought for people to be able to retire early. In 1967, he presented a petition to Parliament asking for men to be able to retire voluntarily at age 60. More than a million people signed this petition.

Ronald Atkins lost his seat in the 1970 general election to the Conservative candidate Mary Holt. After this, he taught at Accrington College of Further Education until 1974.

Return to Parliament

In February 1974, there was another general election. Ronald Atkins won back the Preston North seat, beating Mary Holt by only 255 votes. Labour formed a minority government, and Atkins was back in Parliament. Harold Wilson called another election in October 1974 to try and win a majority of seats. Atkins was re-elected with more votes.

Labour won the election with a small majority. They had promised to hold a vote on whether Britain should stay in the European Economic Community (EEC). Ronald Atkins, like many on the left of his party, was against joining the EEC. However, in the 1975 vote, most people voted to stay in.

In 1976, Harold Wilson stepped down as prime minister. In the election for the new Labour leader, Atkins helped with the campaign for Tony Benn, who was a left-wing politician. Benn did not win the leadership, and Jim Callaghan became prime minister. The Guardian newspaper noted that "Atkins never sought high political office and it was never offered – he settled for being a constituency MP." This means he was happy to focus on helping the people in his local area.

In 1979, the Labour government lost a special vote called a "vote of no confidence." This led to another general election. The Labour Party lost badly to the Conservatives. Ronald Atkins lost his seat to another politician named Robert Atkins (who was not related to him) by only 29 votes. Ronald Atkins did not run for Parliament again after this.

Life After Parliament

Even after leaving Parliament, Ronald Atkins continued to be active in local politics. Between his two terms as an MP, he was elected to Preston City Council in 1973. He served as a councillor until 1976. After losing his parliamentary seat in 1979, he was elected to the Park ward in Preston and won easily. He supported Preston Polytechnic becoming Lancashire Polytechnic, which happened in 1984.

In 1990, the council boundaries changed, so he ran in the Avenham ward. He won the most votes there. In 1992, the Lancashire Polytechnic, which he had first pushed for, became a full university. It was named the University of Central Lancashire. Ronald Atkins was described as "a powerful voice for" this change.

He continued to serve as a Labour councillor until 2010, when he stepped down at the age of 93. He was the oldest member of the council at that time.

In August 2015, when he was 99 years old, Ronald Atkins gave a speech introducing Jeremy Corbyn at an event in Preston. Corbyn was running to be the leader of the Labour Party. Atkins told the crowd, "Jeremy Corbyn is not New Labour he is Real Labour." He became an Honorary President for Momentum for Central Lancashire, a group that supports left-wing politics.

In the 2016 vote on whether Britain should leave the European Union, Atkins voted to leave. He later said, "It wasn't because of immigrants. The most important thing is our sovereignty."

Personal Life

In 1950, Ronald Atkins married Jesse Scott. They had three sons and two twin daughters, Charlotte and Liz. His daughter, Charlotte Atkins, later became a Labour MP herself, serving from 1997 to 2010.

In 2012, Ronald Atkins married his second wife, Elizabeth Alison Wildgoose. She was also a councillor in Preston. They lived in Frenchwood, Preston. His hobbies included jazz, dancing, walking, and politics. He was an active ballroom dancer even when he was very old.

After another former MP, John Freeman, passed away in 2014, Ronald Atkins became the oldest living former MP. He celebrated his 100th birthday in June 2016. He said his long life was due to "good genes, an active lifestyle, and wild Atlantic salmon" in his diet. He also joked that he had "escaped assassination as an MP."

On 30 August 2018, Ronald Atkins became the longest-lived MP ever, living longer than Theodore Taylor. Ronald Atkins passed away at his home in Preston on 30 December 2020, at the age of 104. His wife Elizabeth, who was still a councillor, said he was "staunch Labour all his life and highly respected." She added that the Labour group in Preston called him "the guru."

See also

• Records of members of parliament of the United Kingdom