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.
[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).
Among the Labour gains was Atkins winning the marginal Preston North in Lancashire, unseating the Conservative former minister Julian Amery.
He also supported Liberal MP David Steel'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.
[1] At the February 1974 election, Atkins won back Preston North, defeating Mary Holt by a majority of just 255 votes (0.63%).
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 (EEC).
[7] In 1976, Wilson stood down as prime minister, and in the resulting leadership election, Atkins helped organise left-winger Tony Benn's campaign.
Benn came fourth on the first ballot with 37 votes, and withdrew from the contest, which was won by the more moderate Jim Callaghan, who thus became prime minister.
In the multi-member ward, Atkins topped the poll, winning more votes than the two Labour candidates elected alongside him.
In 2006, a year which saw poor performances by Labour in the local elections, Atkins fended off a strong challenge from the Respect Party to retain his seat by just seven votes.
Atkins voted to leave the European Union (which had succeeded the EEC) in the 2016 referendum, later declaring: "It wasn't because of immigrants.
[11] 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.
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 to late in life.
He celebrated his 100th birthday in June 2016, attributing his long life to "good genes, an active lifestyle, and wild Atlantic salmon" in his diet.