Victoria Atkins is the Conservative MP for Louth and Horncastle, having first been elected to parliament in May 2015.

In the 2024 general election for Louth and Horncastle, Victoria Atkins received 17,441 votes, representing 37.5% of the vote share. The Reform UK candidate, Sean Matthews, received 11,935 votes (25.7%), while the Labour candidate, Jonathan Slater, secured 10,475 votes (22.5%). Atkins was duly elected with a majority of 5,506 votes.

The constituency of Louth and Horncastle covers a large rural area in the north-eastern part of Lincolnshire, including parts of the Lincolnshire Wolds and coastline with seaside resorts like Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea. The main towns are Louth and Horncastle. Farming is a significant part of the local economy. It is considered a safe Conservative seat.

Political Career

Atkins currently serves as the shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs (since November 2024). Atkins was retained in this post following Kemi Badenoch’s July 2025 shadow cabinet reshuffle.

Previously, Atkins was shadow secretary of state for health and social care from July to November 2024. She undertook this role as a member of Rishi Sunak’s interim/caretaker shadow cabinet.

In July 2024, Atkins was reprimanded by the deputy speaker, Sir Christopher Chope, over her behaviour during a parliamentary debate when she attempted to loudly interrupt another MP.

The deputy speaker said Atkins had “behaved abominably”.

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Prior to the 2024 general election, which saw the Conservatives ejected from government, Atkins served as secretary of state for health and social care (November 2023 – July 2024). Before joining the cabinet, she was financial secretary to the Treasury from October 2022 to November 2023 under Sunak.

Atkins held roles as minister of state at the Ministry of Justice (September 2021 – July 2022) and concurrently minister for Afghan resettlement (September 2021 – March 2022) under Boris Johnson. She resigned from the government in July 2022 as part of the mass walkout of ministers that ultimately forced Johnson to announce his own resignation

In her letter of resignation, Atkins told the then-prime minister she could “no longer pirouette around our fractured values”.

She stated: “Values such as integrity, decency, respect and professionalism should matter to us all. I have watched with growing concern as those values have fractured under your leadership.”

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Atkins was parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Home Office from November 2017 to September 2021. She also served as minister for women from January 2018 to February 2020.

She was a member of the home affairs select committee from July 2015 to October 2016, and the women and equalities committee from October 2022 to November 2022.

Atkins gave her maiden speech on 8 July 2015 during the summer budget debate.

In it, she said: “It is beautiful. We go from the rolling hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds – yes, Lincolnshire has hills – across some of the richest agricultural land in the country, to the miles of sweeping sandy beaches where half a million people holiday each year.”

She added: “This budget will be welcomed by my constituents who know that a thriving economy pays for the things that we care about, such as schools, hospitals and defence. They believe that our country must live within its means, and, like the Chancellor, that it must be done fairly.”

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2024: Atkins supported Robert Jenrick’s candidacy in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Rishi Sunak following the party’s defeat in the 2024 general election.

It was seen as a notable endorsement, as Atkins and Jenrick were considered to be from different wings of the party. Atkins was said to be more aligned with the “one nation” or “moderate” wing.

Jenrick, a former immigration minister, positioned himself on the right wing of the party, advocating for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). He emerged as an early frontrunner, topping the first two parliamentary ballots. After reaching the final two, he was defeated in the membership vote by Kemi Badenoch, receiving 41,388 votes (43.5%) compared to Badenoch’s 53,806 (56.5%).

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Atkins supported Sunak’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s July-September 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Boris Johnson, following the mass exodus of more than 60 frontbenchers.

Sunak, the former chancellor, warned against “comforting fairytales” regarding unfunded tax cuts. Although he won every round of the parliamentary ballots, securing 137 votes in the final stage, Sunak was defeated by Liz Truss in the membership vote, finishing with 60,399 votes (42.6%).

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Atkins again supported Sunak’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s October 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Truss after just 45 days in office, following the financial and political tailspin triggered by her “mini-budget”.

Unlike the summer contest, this election featured an expedited process requiring each candidate to secure at least 100 nominations from MPs to proceed. Sunak, having emerged as the clear frontrunner, was declared leader of the Conservative Party unopposed on 24 October.

Tory leadership 2019: Atkins supported Sajid Javid for the party’s leadership in 2019. The election was triggered by the resignation of Theresa May following her inability to secure a Brexit deal acceptable to the Conservative Party.

Javid, the then-home secretary, successfully reached the final four of the parliamentary stages, but was eliminated in the fourth ballot on 20 June after receiving 34 votes.

Tory leadership 2016: Atkins supported Theresa May for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The contest was triggered by the resignation of David Cameron following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

May, the then-home secretary, secured a commanding lead in the parliamentary stages, receiving 165 votes in the first ballot and 199 in the second. Following the withdrawal of her final rival, Andrea Leadsom, on 11 July, May was declared leader unopposed and was appointed prime minister two days later.

Factional identity and party tradition

Tory Reform Group: Atkins is listed as a member of the Tory Reform Group (TRG) – a pressure group within the Conservative Party that represents the “one nation” tradition of political thought. Historically associated with senior party figures such as Kenneth Clarke and Michael Heseltine, the TRG was established in 1975 to champion socially progressive and centrist policies – acting as an intellectual counterweight to the emerging free-market, Thatcherite wing of the party.

Conservative Environment Network: Atkins is a member of the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) parliamentary caucus. CEN is an independent forum for conservatives that supports conservation and decarbonisation. It calls for the environment to be given a higher profile at the heart of policy making, describing “biodiversity loss, climate change, and wasteful resource use are threats to our national security”, and promotes “market-based policies” to environmental challenges. Members of its parliamentary caucus, such as Atkins, are thought to generally align with the group’s “green” message and environmentalism.

Bright Blue: Atkins is listed as a parliamentary supporter of Bright Blue, an independent centre-right think tank and membership organisation that champions liberal conservatism in the UK. Since its founding in 2014, it has been associated with the “modernising” or “one nation” wing of the Conservative Party. The organisation has since expanded its reach through a new cross-party strategy.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Atkins remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of constituents, 68.9% of whom voted to leave.

Setting out her reasons for supporting the remain campaign, Atkins stated: “The truth is the EU will not give us a better deal than they have themselves. This may feel like a long way from our part of Lincolnshire, but it is not. Leaving the EU will affect jobs, prices, mortgages and funding for public services. It is not a risk worth taking in my view.”

She added: “The Leave campaign paints our parliament – the Mother of all Parliaments – as being powerless and weak, cowering in the corner from the EU Commission, being told what to do. This is nonsense. It is not the House of Commons to which I am so proud to have been elected. The Leave campaign makes the mistake of confusing sovereignty and power…

“Let’s lead Europe, not leave it.”

Article 50: In February 2017, Atkins voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading

Assisted dying

Atkins voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Setting out her position on assisted dying, Atkins said in a statement (June 2025): “After much thought and careful consideration, I have decided that that choice should be available to people suffering from a terminal illness and who are at the very end of their lives.

“There are many people who cannot countenance using such a power; their right not to do so remains sacrosanct. This bill does not force anyone to end their lives, including those people who obtain a legal order for their own assisted death. The terminally ill person is the person who decides whether they end their lives – no one else.”

Atkins was one of six shadow cabinet members and 20 Tory MPs to back the assisted dying bill at third reading.

Foreign policy and security

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Atkins was among the group of MPs placed on a sanctions list by the Russian government. The measure barred them from entering Russia and was presented by Moscow as a retaliatory response to the UK’s stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

Trident renewal (2016): Atkins voted in favour of a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Atkins voted in favour of a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Before Politics

Born Victoria Mary Atkins on 22 March 1976 in London, her father is Sir Robert Atkins, a former Conservative MP and MEP.

Atkins was educated at Arnold School in Blackpool and studied Law at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge.

Atkins was called to the bar in 1998. She practised as a criminal barrister in London, specialising in prosecuting serious organised crime, particularly fraud.

Personal Life

Atkins is married to Paul Kenward, the managing director of British Sugar. They have one son.

Kenward is the managing director of British Sugar. While a Home Office minister, Atkins recused herself from making policy decisions relating to cannabis, after it was reported that British Sugar grows non-psychoactive cannabis under licence for medical use.

Atkins has spoken about living with Type 1 diabetes, diagnosed at age three.

Trivia

Atkins followed her father, Sir Robert Atkins, into parliament as a Conservative MP.

Sir Robert was a close personal friend of former prime minister, John Major.