Natascha Engel - Politics

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. She was among the first join the Organising Academy of the Trade Union Congress, serving with the Graphical, Paper and Media Union; 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 decision of the sitting Labour MP Harry Barnes not to stand in the 2005 general election. Her connections with allies of Gordon Brown were remarked upon. Engel took the seat, easily, with a majority of 10,065. She bought a house at Barrow Hill in her constituency in July 2006.

In the May 2010 elections, the swing to the Conservative party in her constituency was 8.6% compared to an East Midland average of 6.7%