Members
Agendas
Minutes
Reports
Media Coverage
Links

Members

Charlotte Atkins MP

Charlotte Atkins MP

Born Sept 20 1950 is Labour MP for Staffordshire Moorlands.

The daughter of Ron Atkins, the former Labour MP for Prescott North, Atkins was educated at Colchester County High, 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 Luton Community Research Council, she worked with the trade Union movement, for four years she was a researcher with UCATT, she worked as a Press Officer with UNISON and COHSE before becoming an MP in 1997. In 1982 she was elected a Councillor for The London Borough of Wandsworth and was deputy leader of The Labour Group from 1983 – 1986.

In 1990 she unsuccessfully contested the Easbourne by-election caused by the murder of Ian Gow by the Provisional IRA. She entered parliament at the 1997 General Election in the Labour landslide as MP for Staffordshire Moorlands, a seat held previously by David Knox and had been Conservative for 27 years.

After 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 of Transport in 2004 but was dropped following the 2005 General Election.

After the 2005 May 5 General Election, she was re-elected for a third term as Labour MP with a majority of 2438. 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. 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 called How to Select or Reselect Your MP.