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{{Short description|British Labour Party politician|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox MP
{{BLP sources|date=January 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Charlotte Atkins
| name = Charlotte Atkins
| image =
| honorific-suffix =[[Member of Parliament|MP]]
| office = [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State]] [[Department for Transport|for Transport]]
| image = Replace this image female.svg
| primeminister = [[Tony Blair]]
| constituency_MP = [[Staffordshire Moorlands (UK Parliament constituency)|Staffordshire Moorlands]]
| 1blankname = [[Secretary of State for Transport|Sec. of State]]
| parliament =
| 1namedata = [[Alistair Darling]]
| majority =
| term_start = 10 September 2004
| predecessor = [[David Knox (UK politician)|David Knox]]
| term_end = 10 May 2005
| successor = [[Incumbent]]
| term_start = [[1 May]] [[1997]]
| predecessor = [[Tony McNulty]]
| successor = [[Karen Buck]]
| term_end =
| constituency_MP1 = [[Staffordshire Moorlands (UK Parliament constituency)|Staffordshire Moorlands]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1950|9|24|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| parliament1 =
| predecessor1 = [[David Knox (UK politician)|David Knox]]
| successor1 = [[Karen Bradley]]
| term_start1 = 1 May 1997
| term_end1 = 12 April 2010
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1950|9|24}}
| birth_place = [[Chelmsford]], [[Essex]], England
| death_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_place =
| nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
| nationality = British
| spouse =
| spouse = Gus Brain
| party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| parents = [[Ronald Atkins]]<br>Elizabeth Atkins
| relations =
| children =
| children = 1
| residence =
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[London School of Economics]]
| alma_mater = [[London School of Economics]]
Line 29: Line 39:
| footnotes =
| footnotes =
}}
}}
'''Charlotte Jean Scott Atkins''' (born [[24 September]] [[1950]]) is a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] politician in the [[United Kingdom]]. She is the [[Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Staffordshire Moorlands (UK Parliament constituency)|Staffordshire Moorlands]].
'''Charlotte Jean Scott Atkins''' (born 24 September 1950) is a [[British Labour Party]] politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for [[Staffordshire Moorlands (UK Parliament constituency)|Staffordshire Moorlands]] from [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]] until [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]].


==Early life==
The daughter of [[Ronald Atkins|Ron Atkins]], the former left wing Labour MP for [[Preston North (UK Parliament constituency)|Preston North]], Atkins was educated at the [[Colchester]] County High School, and is a graduate of the [[London School of Economics]]. She joined the Labour Party in 1965. She worked as a community relations officer with the [[Luton]] Community Research Council. She worked in the [[Trade Union]] Movement, for four years she was a researcher with the [[Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians|UCATT union]] she worked as a press officer for [[UNISON]] and [[Confederation of Health Service Employees|COHSE]] before becoming a Member of Parliament in [[1997]]. In [[1982]] she was elected as a councillor in the [[London Borough of Wandsworth]], and was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Group from 1983-1986.
Atkins is the daughter of [[Ron Atkins]], the left wing former Labour MP for [[Preston North]], and the [[Records of members of parliament of the United Kingdom#Longest-lived MP|longest-lived British MP ever]]. Atkins was educated at the [[Colchester County High School]], and is a graduate of the [[London School of Economics]], gaining a [[BSc]] in Economics. From the University of London, she also gained an [[Master of Arts|MA]] in Area Studies. She worked as a community relations officer with the [[Luton]] Community Research Council from 1974 to 1976, before joining the trade union movement.


For four years she was a researcher with the [[Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians|UCATT union]] (from 1976 to 1980), then a researcher from 1980 to 1984 for the [[Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union|TASS and AUEW]], before becoming a press officer for [[UNISON]] and [[COHSE]] from 1984 to 1987.
In [[1990]] she unsuccessfully contested the [[Eastbourne by-election, 1990|Eastbourne by-election]] caused by the murder of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP [[Ian Gow]] by the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]]. She entered the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] at the [[United Kingdom general election, 1997|1997 general election]] in the Labour landslide as the Member of Parliament for Staffordshire Moorlands, a seat held previously by [[David Knox (UK politician)|David Knox]], and which had been Conservative for 27 years.


Atkins joined the Labour Party in 1965. In 1982, she was elected as a councillor in the [[London Borough of Wandsworth]], and was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Group from 1983 to 1986. In 1981 she wrote a book with [[Chris Mullin (politician)|Chris Mullin]] entitled ''How to Select or Reselect Your MP''.
After the [[United Kingdom general election, 2001|2001 general election]] she was appointed a [[Parliamentary Private Secretary]] to the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]]. She was promoted to [[Tony Blair]]'s government as [[Parliamentary Under Secretary of State]] at the [[Department for Transport]] in 2004, but was dropped following the 2005 general election.


==Parliamentary career==
At the [[United Kingdom general election, 2005|2005 general election]] on [[5 May]] [[2005]], she was re-elected for a third term as MP, with a majority of 2,438. In July 2005 she became a member of the Parliamentary Health Select Committee and is the Vice-Chair of the All-Party Hill Farmers Group.
In 1990, Atkins unsuccessfully contested the [[1990 Eastbourne by-election|Eastbourne by-election]] caused by the assassination of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP [[Ian Gow]] by the [[Provisional IRA]]. She entered the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] at the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]] in the Labour landslide as the Member of Parliament for [[Staffordshire Moorlands (UK Parliament constituency)|Staffordshire Moorlands]], a seat held previously by the retiring [[David Knox (UK politician)|David Knox]] and which had been Conservative-held for 27 years.


After the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]], Atkins was appointed a [[Parliamentary Private Secretary]] to the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]]. She was promoted to [[Parliamentary Under Secretary of State]] at the [[Department for Transport]] in 2004, but was dropped after the [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005 general election]]. In July 2005 she became a member of the [[Health Select Committee]].
She is a volunteer at the British Fluoridisation Society. She is married to Gus Brain and has one daughter, Emma. She wrote a book in 1981 with [[Chris Mullin (politician)|Chris Mullin]] called ''How to Select or Reselect Your MP''.


Atkins was largely loyal to the Labour government during her time in Parliament and rarely rebelled.<ref>[http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Charlotte_Atkins&mpc=Staffordshire_Moorlands Public Whip – Charlotte Atkins MP voting record] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207101723/http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Charlotte_Atkins&mpc=Staffordshire_Moorlands |date=7 December 2008 }}</ref>


Atkins was vice-chair of the All-Party Hill Farmers Group, and took part in a series of [[adjournment debate]]s on government funding for [[British Waterways|inland waterways]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Adjournment debate on future of canals |work=Boating Business |url=http://www.boatingbusiness.com/archive101/2008/november/news/the_future_of_the_canals |accessdate=28 October 2008 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> She is a volunteer for the Manchester-based British Fluoridisation Society.

Atkins lost her seat at the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]] to [[Karen Bradley]] of the Conservative Party.

==Post-parliamentary career==
In March 2012, Atkins was appointed as the chair of the Central Shires Canal and River Trust Partnership Board. The CRT is the charity which has taken over the work and role of British Waterways. She was heavily involved in campaigning for more funds and the regeneration of England's waterways while in Parliament, and won the first ever Inland Waterways Association Parliamentarian of the Year Award in 2008.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

Atkins was elected as a councillor for the Leek North ward of [[Staffordshire Moorlands District Council]] in a 2012 by-election, and continues to represent the ward.<ref>{{cite web |title=Local Elections Archive Project — Leek North Ward |url=https://www.andrewteale.me.uk/leap/ward/5213/#2012-02-09 |website=www.andrewteale.me.uk |access-date=3 February 2024}}</ref>

==Personal life==
She married Gus Brain in June 1990 in [[Bromley]] and has one child, Emma, born in October 1986.{{cn|date=August 2021}}

Her twin sister, Liz, is a Lambeth Councillor.{{cn|date=August 2021}}


==Publications==
==Publications==
* ''How to Select or Reselect Your Member of Parliament'' by Chris Mullin and Charlotte Atkins, 1981, Institute of Workers' Control ISBN 0-901740-74-8
* ''How to Select or Reselect Your Member of Parliament'' by Chris Mullin and Charlotte Atkins, 1981, Institute of Workers' Control {{ISBN|0-901740-74-8}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-152,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Charlotte Atkins MP]
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-152,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Charlotte Atkins MP]
*[http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/charlotte_atkins/staffordshire_moorlands TheyWorkForYou.com - Charlotte Atkins MP]
* [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/charlotte_atkins/staffordshire_moorlands TheyWorkForYou.com – Charlotte Atkins MP]
* [http://www.charlotteatkins.co.uk Official Website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080907064015/http://www.waterways.org.uk/News/Pressreleases/ParliamentarianoftheYear IWA Parliamentarian of the Year]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/534.stm BBC Politics]{{Dead link|date=June 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}


===News items===
{{start box}}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/england/4474141.stm Claiming Labour wanted to ditch the council tax in 2005]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/4096721.stm Opening the Rearsby bypass in December 2004]

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before = [[David Knox (UK politician)|David Knox]]}}
{{incumbent succession box
| title = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Staffordshire Moorlands (UK Parliament constituency)|Staffordshire Moorlands]]
{{s-ttl|title = Member of Parliament for [[Staffordshire Moorlands (UK Parliament constituency)|Staffordshire Moorlands]]|years = [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]–[[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]]}}
{{s-aft|after = [[Karen Bradley]]}}
| start = [[United Kingdom general election, 1997|1997]]
{{s-end}}
| before = [[David Knox (UK politician)|David Knox]]
}}
{{end box}}


{{Authority control}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->


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|SHORT DESCRIPTION=[[United Kingdom|British]] [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] politician, [[Member of Parliament|MP]] for [[Staffordshire Moorlands (UK Parliament constituency)|Staffordshire Moorlands]] 1997&mdash;
|DATE OF BIRTH=[[24 September]] [[1950]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Charlotte}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Charlotte}}
[[Category:Labour MPs (UK)]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1997-2001]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1997–2001]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2001-2005]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2001–2005]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2005-]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2005–2010]]
[[Category:Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Councillors in the London Borough of Wandsworth]]
[[Category:Councillors in Wandsworth]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics]]
[[Category:British female MPs]]
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Chelmsford]]

[[Category:Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies]]
[[sv:Charlotte Atkins]]
[[Category:People educated at Colchester County High School]]
[[Category:20th-century British women politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century British women politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century English women]]
[[Category:20th-century English politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century English women]]
[[Category:21st-century English politicians]]
[[Category:Women councillors in England]]

Latest revision as of 10:01, 26 July 2024

Charlotte Atkins
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
In office
10 September 2004 – 10 May 2005
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Sec. of StateAlistair Darling
Preceded byTony McNulty
Succeeded byKaren Buck
Member of Parliament
for Staffordshire Moorlands
In office
1 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byDavid Knox
Succeeded byKaren Bradley
Personal details
Born (1950-09-24) 24 September 1950 (age 74)
Chelmsford, Essex, England
Political partyLabour
SpouseGus Brain
Children1
Parent(s)Ronald Atkins
Elizabeth Atkins
Alma materLondon School of Economics

Charlotte Jean Scott Atkins (born 24 September 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Staffordshire Moorlands from 1997 until 2010.

Early life

[edit]

Atkins is the daughter of Ron Atkins, the left wing former Labour MP for Preston North, and the longest-lived British MP ever. Atkins was educated at the Colchester County High School, and is a graduate of the London School of Economics, gaining a BSc in Economics. From the University of London, she also gained an MA in Area Studies. She worked as a community relations officer with the Luton Community Research Council from 1974 to 1976, before joining the trade union movement.

For four years she was a researcher with the UCATT union (from 1976 to 1980), then a researcher from 1980 to 1984 for the TASS and AUEW, before becoming a press officer for UNISON and COHSE from 1984 to 1987.

Atkins joined the Labour Party in 1965. In 1982, she was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Wandsworth, and was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Group from 1983 to 1986. In 1981 she wrote a book with Chris Mullin entitled How to Select or Reselect Your MP.

Parliamentary career

[edit]

In 1990, Atkins unsuccessfully contested the Eastbourne by-election caused by the assassination of the Conservative MP Ian Gow by the Provisional IRA. She entered the House of Commons at the 1997 general election in the Labour landslide as the Member of Parliament for Staffordshire Moorlands, a seat held previously by the retiring David Knox and which had been Conservative-held for 27 years.

After the 2001 general election, Atkins was appointed a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She was promoted to Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport in 2004, but was dropped after the 2005 general election. In July 2005 she became a member of the Health Select Committee.

Atkins was largely loyal to the Labour government during her time in Parliament and rarely rebelled.[1]

Atkins was vice-chair of the All-Party Hill Farmers Group, and took part in a series of adjournment debates on government funding for inland waterways.[2] She is a volunteer for the Manchester-based British Fluoridisation Society.

Atkins lost her seat at the 2010 general election to Karen Bradley of the Conservative Party.

Post-parliamentary career

[edit]

In March 2012, Atkins was appointed as the chair of the Central Shires Canal and River Trust Partnership Board. The CRT is the charity which has taken over the work and role of British Waterways. She was heavily involved in campaigning for more funds and the regeneration of England's waterways while in Parliament, and won the first ever Inland Waterways Association Parliamentarian of the Year Award in 2008.[citation needed]

Atkins was elected as a councillor for the Leek North ward of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council in a 2012 by-election, and continues to represent the ward.[3]

Personal life

[edit]

She married Gus Brain in June 1990 in Bromley and has one child, Emma, born in October 1986.[citation needed]

Her twin sister, Liz, is a Lambeth Councillor.[citation needed]

Publications

[edit]
  • How to Select or Reselect Your Member of Parliament by Chris Mullin and Charlotte Atkins, 1981, Institute of Workers' Control ISBN 0-901740-74-8

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Public Whip – Charlotte Atkins MP voting record Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Adjournment debate on future of canals". Boating Business. Retrieved 28 October 2008.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Leek North Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
[edit]

News items

[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Staffordshire Moorlands
1997–2010 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Charlotte_Atkins&oldid=1236749780"