Ronald Atkins

Ronald Atkins
Member of Parliament
for Preston North
In office
28 February 1974 – 7 April 1979
Preceded byMary Holt
Succeeded byRobert Atkins
In office
31 March 1966 – 29 May 1970
Preceded byJulian Amery
Succeeded byMary Holt
Personal details
Born
Ronald Henry Atkins

(1916-06-13)13 June 1916
Barry, Glamorgan, Wales
Died30 December 2020(2020-12-30) (aged 104)
Avenham, Preston, England
Political partyLabour
Spouses
Jesse Scott
(m. 1950; div. 1979)
Elizabeth Wildgoose
(m. 2012)
Children5, including Charlotte
EducationBarry Grammar School
Alma materUniversity of London

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 until 1970, and from February 1974 until 1979. 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.[1]

A member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Atkins took part in the Aldermaston marches, opposed the American war in Vietnam, and was a member of the Tribune group of left-wing Labour MPs. He also supported the campaigns by Tony Benn and Jeremy Corbyn to lead the Labour Party.[2] In the course of his career, Atkins helped bring a polytechnic educational facility to Preston, which later became the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).[3]

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.[4][5]

  1. ^ "Atkins, Ronald Henry, (13 June 1916–30 Dec. 2020)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u5935. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Former Preston MP and city councillor Ron Atkins dies aged 104". www.lep.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Ron Atkins obituary". The Guardian. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).