Eric Petro Deakins (born 7 October 1932) is a British Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Walthamstow West from

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

February 1974 The following events occurred in February 1974: February 1, 1974 (Friday) *Joelma fire, A fire killed 177 people and injured 293 others in the 23-story Joelma Building at São Paulo in Brazil. Another 11 later died of their injuries. The bl ...

, and

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

from that election until

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

. He has also worked as an international public affairs consultant.

Early life

Deakins was born as the elder son of the late Edward Deakins and Gladys Deakins. He was educated at

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

and the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, and became a commercial executive. He served as a councillor on

Tottenham Borough Council Tottenham () was a local government district in north east Middlesex from 1850 to 1965. It was part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District. History In 1850 a local board of health was established for the civil parish of T ...

between 1958 and 1961, and from 1962 to 1963.

Political career

Deakins was unsuccessful in his first three attempts to be elected a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP), including in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

against future

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

, and

Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the London U ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. However, he was later elected MP for Walthamstow West in

, reversing his by-election loss to the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

of that seat in 1967. His maiden speech was made on 16 July 1970. Speaking in favour of the second reading of the Misuse Of Drugs Bill, he raised a series of reservations: "It attacks socially unacceptable drugs but does nothing about socially acceptable drugs." After boundary changes in 1974, Walthamstow West was merged into the new constituency of

, which he continued to represent. During the Labour government of 1974–1979, Deakins was a junior minister for Trade (1974–1976) and the

DHSS The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services. His ...

(1976–1979). He represented Walthamstow until he was defeated at the 1987 general election, gaining 34% of the vote compared to the 39% polled by his

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

opponent

Hugo Summerson Hugo Hawksley Fitzthomas Summerson (born 21 July 1950) is a British Conservative politician. Early life Summerson contested Barking in 1983, but was beaten by Labour's Jo Richardson by 4,026 votes. Parliamentary career At the 1987 general el ...

. His defeat was against the national trend, but seemed to some political observers to follow a

rates Rate or rates may refer to: Finance * Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government * Exchange rate, rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another Mathematics and science * Rate (mathema ...

increase by the Labour-controlled

Waltham Forest London Borough Council Waltham Forest London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Waltham Forest in London, England which has existed since the London Government Act 1963 was commenced in 1965, replacing three local authorities: Chingford Bor ...

. , this is the last time that Walthamstow has not been won by the Labour Party.

Personal life

Outside politics, his interests are writing, cinema, yoga and football. In 1990, he married Sandra Weaver; they have a son and two daughters. He lives in

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

, north west London.

Publications

* ''A Faith to Fight For'', 1964 * ''You And Your Member Of Parliament'' (with Nance Fyson), 1987 * ''What Future for Labour?'', 1988

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1966 & 1987 *

Notes

External links

* 1932 births Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in Greater London UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 People from Tottenham Labour Party (UK) councillors Alumni of the London School of Economics {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub