Ronald Atkins

Ronald Henry Atkins (born 13 June 1916) is a British former Labour Party politician.

Atkins was educated at Barry County School and the University of London. He became a teacher at a college of further education and a tutor and lecturer for the National Council of Labour Colleges. He was a councillor on Braintree Rural District Council 1952–61 and served on the Mid-Essex education committee of Essex County Council. At 93, he was the oldest member of Preston City Council when he stepped down in 2010.

Atkins contested Lowestoft in 1964. He was twice Member of Parliament for the marginal Preston North constituency, from 1966 to 1970, and from February 1974 to 1979 - when he lost to the very-similarly named and unrelated Conservative, Robert Atkins. The margin of defeat was just 29 votes (0.1%). Following the death of John Freeman on 20 December 2014, he became the oldest surviving former MP. His daughter Charlotte Atkins was the Labour MP for Staffordshire Moorlands from 1997 until 2010.

References

• Times Guide to the House of Commons 1979
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 2)

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Ronald Atkins

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Julian Amery	Member of Parliament for Preston North 1966–1970	Succeeded by Mary Holt
Preceded by Mary Holt	Member of Parliament for Preston North February 1974–1979	Succeeded by Robert Atkins