Ron Atkins, who has died aged 104, was the Labour MP for Preston North for nine years (1966-70 and 1974-79) and became a revered figure within the party.
His first attempt to enter parliament was in 1964, when he lost in Lowestoft to Jim Prior. His causes – membership of CND and opposition to war, stationing of British troops in Germany and US foreign policy – were to last a lifetime. He succeeded in Preston North in 1966 when he defeated the rightwing Conservative Julian Amery. Atkins never sought high political office and it was never offered – he settled for being a constituency MP. He achieved some prominence with his chairmanship of the all-party retirement group and its campaign for early retirement. In 1967 he presented to parliament a petition signed by more than a million people for voluntary male retirement at 60.
Like many Labour MPs holding marginal seats, he lost in the 1970 general election. Atkins taught at Accrington College during the interim years, then fought the seat again in February 1974. Preston North was a key political indicator; as Preston went so, it seemed, would the nation. Atkins won by 255 votes and Labour returned as a minority government. He increased his majority later that year in the October general election.
In the Commons he was firmly on the left. He opposed incomes policies, called for more state ownership and help for the less well-off, opposed membership of the EEC and backed cuts in defence spending (but made an exception for the BAE factory in Preston which made military aircraft). As well as backing the aviation factory, he fought against a takeover of the local Bond Cars by Reliant Motors. Many of Preston’s substantial Catholic population took a dim view of his support for David Steel’s abortion bill and he thought it might have him cost him the 1970 election. He was more careful thereafter. Atkins also helped to organise Tony Benn’s campaign for the Labour leadership in 1976. Jim Callaghan won but Benn drew a respectable 67 votes.
The 1979 general election was a disappointment for Atkins and his family. His stepson Michael fought Blackpool South and Michael’s wife, Kathleen, fought Fylde South, both for Labour. The outcome was a hat-trick of defeats. Ron’s daughter Charlotte later represented Staffordshire Moorlands for Labour.
Atkins was born in Barry, the son of Frank, a master butcher, and his wife, Elizabeth (nee Bryant). He saw poverty at first hand in the south Wales port and it inspired him to join the Labour party. His first jobs on the railways gave him a lifelong interest in public transport. Having qualified as a teacher at Birkbeck College, London, he eventually became head of English at Halstead secondary school in Essex, where he first got involved in local politics. He combined teaching with serving as a Labour councillor on Braintree rural district council before moving north in the 1960s.
On leaving the House of Commons, most MPs retire from active politics unless they enter the Lords. Not Atkins. Once he recovered from his 1979 election setback, he returned to teaching at Accrington College and took up local politics again. With his family now firmly settled in Preston, he was elected to the local council in 1980.
His name was mentioned in connection with winnable seats but he did not pursue them. His was a powerful voice for the creation of Lancashire Polytechnic at Preston in 1984 and its later evolution to full university status as the University of Central Lancashire in 1992. He retired from the council in 2010.
Blessed with a strong constitution, Atkins recommended “good genes, an active lifestyle and wild Atlantic salmon” for a long and active life. He forgot to mention his cups of Ethiopian coffee and love of debate, even confrontation. He was a keen ballroom dancer and liked jazz; when, in his 90s, he was asked what kind of music he liked he replied: “The kind you can dance to.” Approaching his centenary, he did not look forward to any fuss and went for a short holiday with his wife – to a converted barn in the Lakes with no letterbox, which presented a challenge for the postman delivering birthday greetings from the Queen.
His marriage to Jesse Scott, whom he married in 1950, ended in divorce in 1979. He is survived by his second wife, Elizabeth (nee Wildgoose), whom he married in 2012, and twin daughters, Charlotte and Liz, and a stepson, Donald, from his first marriage.
• Ronald Henry Atkins, politician, born 13 June 1916; died 30 December 2020
