Ronald Atkins

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]