Ronald Atkins
Ronald Atkins | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Preston North | |
| In office 28 February 1974 – 7 April 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Mary Holt |
| Succeeded by | Robert Atkins |
| In office 31 March 1966 – 29 May 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Julian Amery |
| Succeeded by | Mary Holt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ronald Henry Atkins 13 June 1916 Barry, Glamorgan, Wales |
| Died | 30 December 2020 (aged 104) Avenham, Preston, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouses | Jesse Scott
(m. 1950; div. 1979)Elizabeth Wildgoose (m. 2012) |
| Children | 5, including Charlotte |
| Education | Barry Grammar School |
| Alma mater | University 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.
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. In the course of his career, Atkins helped bring a polytechnic educational facility to Preston, which later became the University of Central Lancashire (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.