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Natascha Engel MP (born 9 April 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.

Personal life and education

Early life

Natascha Engel was born in Berlin, Germany to a German father and an English mother. She was educated at the independent Kent College in Canterbury, and trained as a linguist at King's College London (German and Portuguese) and at the University of Westminster (MA in Technical and Specialised Translation). In addition to her political career, Engel has done postgraduate work in translation: she speaks German, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Family life

She is married to David (Newton) Salisbury-Jones, a veterinary surgeon who served (1994-8) as a Labour councillor for Lambeth (Princes Ward) and fought Uxbridge in the 2001 General Election for the Labour Party. They have three sons, Malek (born November 2003), Anton (born May 2005) and Lukas (born January 2008). They live in Barrow Hill, near Staveley.

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 have co-written a pamphlet, published by the TUC, and an article, published by The New Statesman, arguing that unions should offer learning opportunities in order to recruit more members. Despite the lack of local connections, she was selected 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.

Her husband, Salisbury-Jones, was serving as the membership secretary to the the North-East Derbyshire Labour Party.

Engel won her seat with a majority of 10,065 in the 2005 general election. She (together with her husband) bought a house in her constituency at Barrow Hill near Eckington in July 2006.

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 on 20 October 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. 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". After entering Parliament, Engel has voted, consistently, (31 October 2006, 11 June 2007, 25 March 2008), with the government, against motions calling for an independent inquiry on the Iraq war.

In 2006, Engel's name was included on a list of 15 up and coming Labour MPs compiled for News Corporation. She backed Peter Hain for deputy leader of the Labour Party in the 2007 leadership contest and represents the Labour Party on the Board of Trustees of the UK Youth Parliament. Engel has worked to encourage local and national democratic thought in youngsters and advocates the lowering of the voting age to sixteen. She has shown special interest in the sexual health of youth, including the free supply, on the National Health Service, (NHS) of condoms, advocating, through the Fabians, that youth sexual health should find special attention in the next Labour Party manifesto. She was instrumental in trying to arrange, ultimately unsuccessfully, the construction of what would have been the world's largest sundial in her constituency.

Engel was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Hain from 16 July 2007 (Hain resigned his Cabinet posts on 24 January 2008).

Standing down from the Work and Pensions Committee on 7 November 2007, she has been recognised for her work with the UK Youth Parliament. Although recently on maternity leave with her third child, Lukas she is occasionally attending the Commons and voting.

Affiliations

• The Centre Forum
• The Fabian Society
• The General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union (GMB)
• Sheffield Football Club

Publications

• Balls, E., Costley, N., Engel, N., (ed.), Gemmell, S., Healey, J., MP, Johnson, A., MP, Raynsford, N., MP, Riordan, T., Samuda, R., White, P.(Dr.), Age of Regions: Meeting the UK Productivity Challenge, 2002, ISBN 1-902-48850-4
• Engel, N., Healey, J., (MP), Learning to organise, TUC, 2003, ISBN 1-850-06659-0
• Engel, N., Healey, J., (MP), Everybody out . . . for training!, The Skill Factor (Special Supplement), New Statesman, Vol. 132, March 10, 2003. p. xiv
• Engel, N., Sodha, S., Johnson, M., Moving on up : progression in the labour market, Politics for a New Generation: The Progressive Moment,(Pearce, N., Margo, J. eds.), Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp 191-214, ISBN 0-230-52493-1

References

1. David Salisbury-Jones, Vet.
2. Lambeth service dates David (Newton) Salisbury-Jones 'mini-cv' from the Vale Vets
3. Princes Ward
4. Uxbridge 2001
5. Learning to Organize (pdf)
6. Everybody out . . . for training! (pdf)
7. Francis Elliott, "Blair allies lose ground to the Brown babes", The Independent on Sunday, 8 February 2004, p. 4
8. North East Derbyshire Labour Party New Members
9. Engel (together with Salisbury-Jones) retains business and residential property interests in Streatham and Lambeth, London
10. Barrow Hill
11. New arrival for newly elected MP , BBC News, Tuesday, 31 May 2005
12. Hansard, House of Commons, 6th series, vol. 437, cols. 1012-1013
13. 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.
14. "Labour MPs on Iraq - part two", guardian.co.uk, Monday, 26 September 2005
15. Division Nos. 330/331.
16. Division No. 135
17. Division No. 666
18. Paul Murphy, "How Murdoch plans to win friends and influence people", Media Guardian, 2 February 2006
19. "Peter Hain's backers", Guardian Unlimited, Thursday, 17 May 2007
20. Engel deputizes - for Hain
21. Peter Hain, Guardian Unlimited, Profile (GUP)
22. What is 'Question Time'? North-East Derbyshire District Council
23. YOURspace The interactive magazine for North East Derbyshire
24. What can MPs do to engage with young people? 15 Oct, 2007
25. Voting Age (Reduction) Hansard, 5 Dec 2007 : Column 855
26. Access to Contraceptive Services Bill (Failed Bill 2006/07 session)
27. Sex and relationships. Dear Ed: Manifesto suggestions. Fabian Review, Autumn 2007
28. Solar Pyramid
29. Solar Pyramid Declined
30. Hain quits jobs 'to clear name' , BBC News, Tuesday, 24 January 2008
31. "House of Commons Order of Business" Thursday, 8 November 2007
32. Children & Youth Champion 28 November 2007
33. Derbyshire Times, 13 December 2007
34. Jennifer Ivers, "MP Natascha looks to the future", Derbyshire Times, 25 October 2007
35. Richard Marsden, "MP has her third baby", The Star, 15 January 2008
36. Voting record
37. The Center Forum
38. Labour Representation Committee
39. Sheffield's Sport For All With Caborn , Football Foundation, 28 April 2006

External links

• Constituency Report 2008 (pdf): Natascha Engel MP
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle
• Natascha Engel MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com
• BBC Politics

• 1967 births
• Alumni of King's College London
• Alumni of the University of Westminster
• British female MPs
• Labour MPs (UK)
• Living people
• Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
• UK MPs 2005-
• People from Berlin
• People from Canterbury