Natascha Engel

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Natascha Engel (born April 9, 1967) is a British politician. She was elected as the Labour Member of Parliament for North East Derbyshire in the 2005 general election. Her background has included extensive involvement in the trade union movement and connections with allies of Gordon Brown.

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[edit] Personal life and education

Natascha Engel was born in Berlin, Germany to a German father and an English mother. She was educated at Kent College in Canterbury, and trained as a linguist at King's College London and at the University of Westminster. In addition to her political career, Engel has done postgraduate work in technical and specialised translation: she speaks German, Spanish, and Portugese. She is married to David Salisbury Jones, a veterinary surgeon who fought Uxbridge in the 2001 General Election for the Labour Party. They have two sons.

[edit] Politics

While living in Madrid, Spain, Engel worked as a volunteer for two years in the local office of Amnesty International while earning a living as a teacher of English. After returning to Britain to work as a Teletext subtitler, Engel joined the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU). She was among the first join the Organising Academy of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), serving with the Graphical, Paper and Media Union (GPMU); she worked on political fund ballots in persuading trade union members to retain their financial backing for the Labour Party.

Engel joined the Labour Party staff as a Trade Union Liaison Officer organising marginal seats campaigning at the 2001 general election. She later became policy co-ordinator for the Trade Union Liaison Office, before leaving to work as programme director of the Smith Institute. Her work there included researching on skills and the needs of working women. In October 2002 through the Smith Institute she co-authored the book "Age of Regions: Meeting the Productivity Challenge".

She was an assistant to John Healey in February 2003, and the two co-wrote a pamphlet,[1] published by the TUC, arguing that unions should offer learning opportunities in order to recruit more members. Despite the lack of local connections, she was selected[2] as the Labour candidate for North East Derbyshire following the retirement of the sitting Labour MP Harry Barnes. Her connections with allies of Gordon Brown were remarked upon.

Engel moved to Dronfield in the constituency. At the 2005 general election she won her seat with a majority of 10,065. Less than a month later she gave birth to her second son.

[edit] Parliament

When the Select Committees were established in the new Parliament, Engel was appointed to the Work and Pensions Committee. After being on maternity leave, she made her maiden speech[3] on October 20, 2005, the last of the incoming Labour MPs to do so. As traditional, she paid tribute to her predecessor Harry Barnes for his work, and made a speech concentrating on her constituency. She supported the devolution of power and resources to local communities, highlighting examples in Staveley and Grassmoor. She referred to socialism as "the simple idea that if someone helps their neighbour, their neighbour will help them."

Engel has not broken the Labour whip in her time in Parliament.[4] However, asked in an interview, in 2005, "If you were an MP at the time, how did you vote on military action in Iraq?", Engel answered, "Against".[5] After entering Parliament, Engel voted (31 October 2006), with the government, against a motion calling for an independent inquiry on the Iraq war.[6]

Engel's name was on a list of 15 up and coming Labour MPs compiled for News Corporation in 2006.[7] She is a supporter of electoral reform[citation needed].

[edit] Publications

[edit] References

  1. ^ Learning to Organize (pdf)
  2. ^ Francis Elliott, "Blair allies lose ground to the Brown babes", The Independent on Sunday, 8 February 2004, p. 4
  3. ^ Hansard, House of Commons, 6th series, vol. 437, cols. 1012-1013
  4. ^ The Publicwhip website shows that the only occasion on which she has differed from a majority of Labour MPs was on a Private members' bill, and on free votes on reform of the House of Lords.
  5. ^ Labour MPs on Iraq - part two
  6. ^ Division no. 330.
  7. ^ Paul Murphy, "How Murdoch plans to win friends and influence people", Media Guardian, 2 February 2006

[edit] External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Harry Barnes		 Member of Parliament for North East Derbyshire
2005 – present		 Incumbent
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