Natascha Engel

David Salisbury-Jones

​

​

(div. 2012)​

Natascha Engel
Engel in 2012
Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Second Deputy Chair of Ways and Means
In office 3 June 2015 –8 June 2017
Children	3 sons
Residence	United Kingdom
Alma mater	King's College London, University of Westminster
Profession	Translator; trade union organiser

Natascha Engel (born 9 April 1967) ^[1] is a British former politician. She served as Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Derbyshire from 2005 until her defeat at the 2017 general election. ^[2]

During her final two years in Parliament, Engel was Deputy Speaker (Second Deputy Chair of Ways and Means). She established and was the inaugural chair of the Backbench Business Committee (2010–2015) for which she was awarded Parliamentarian of the Year in 2013 by the Political Studies Association ^[3] and the Spectator's Backbencher of the Year in 2015. ^[4]

Engel is now CEO of cross-party policy and research institute, Palace Yard.

Early life and education

The King's School, Canterbury

Engel was born in Berlin, Germany, ^[5] to a German father and an English mother. After her parents' divorce she moved with her mother to Kent and was educated at Kent College and The King's School, Canterbury. ^[6]

She later trained as a linguist in German and Portuguese at King's College London and at the University of Westminster where she obtained a Master's degree in Technical and Specialised Translation (German, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese). ^{[1] [7]}

Early career

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 an English and German teacher. After returning to Britain to work as a Teletext subtitler, Engel learned British Sign Language and volunteered as a communication support worker. She was among the first to join the Organising Academy of the Trade Union Congress, serving with the Graphical, Paper and Media Union. In 2001 she co-ordinated the political fund ballots to help trade unions to maintain their political funds.

Engel joined the Labour Party staff as a Trade Union Liaison Officer in 1997 organising marginal seats campaigning and co-ordinating trade union policy with the Labour Party. In 2001 she became programme director at the think tank, the Smith Institute.

Parliamentary career

House of Commons

After her election in 2005, Engel was appointed to the Work and Pensions Select Committee.

She served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Peter Hain when he was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. She performed the same role for Liam Byrne in 2008 when he was at the Cabinet Office, and then for John Denham when he was Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in 2009.

In July 2009, she was elected to the Select Committee on Reform of the House of Commons, ^[8] chaired by Tony Wright MP.

On 15 June 2010, the House of Commons voted to create a Backbench Business Committee, and one week later, Engel defeated Sir Alan Haselhurst 202 to 173 in a secret ballot of MPs to become its first chair. ^[9] On 6 July 2011 she was named "Backbencher of the Year" for her work with the committee. ^[10]

Engel's role was to allocate roughly one day a week parliamentary debating time between competing backbenchers by a process described by Quentin Letts as akin to Dragons' Den . ^[11] She expressed pride in the committee, which is "a powerful check on the executive". ^[11] Debates are allowed on any topic and, unless they are against party policy, the whips don't interfere. ^[11] The most contentious debate was on the EU referendum ^[11] held on 24 October 2011. ^[12] Engel was re-elected, unopposed, to the chair of the committee May 2012. ^[13]

After the 2015 General Election, Engel was elected unopposed to be Deputy Speaker (Second Chairman of Ways and Means) under John Bercow's speakership. Alongside her fellow Deputies, Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Dame Eleanor Laing, Engel never said how she voted in the 2016 EU referendum knowing that she would later have to chair debates on the subject.

Youth campaigns

Engel in 2008

Engel was on the Board of Trustees of the UK Youth Parliament and has worked to encourage young people to participate in democracy. Engel became chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Youth Affairs in 2008. ^{[14] [15]} At the ePolitix Charity Champion awards in November 2007, Engel was named "Children and Youth Champion" for her work. ^{[16] [17]} At the 2007–08 annual general meeting of the British Youth Council, she was chosen as an Honorary President of the council. ^[18]

Expenses

The Legg Report ^[19] showed that 343 MPs had been asked to repay money, including several from Derbyshire. ^[20] Engel repaid £1,934 of which she said £1,339 was a mortgage claim the Fees office paid twice which she repaid immediately whilst £595 was a refund of a house rental deposit. ^[20]

Later elections

In the 2015 general election, Engel's majority of 1,883 was the 17th-smallest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage. ^[21] She had been expected to lose but she retained her seat. ^[22]

At the 2017 general election, Engel lost to Conservative Lee Rowley by 2,861 despite increasing her share of the vote and total number votes on the previous election. ^[22]

After Parliament

On 5 October 2018 the Conservative government announced Engel as the new Commissioner for Shale Gas. ^[23] According to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy the role was to be "a direct communication link between local communities, the shale gas industry and the industry regulators." ^[24]

From 2019 to 2022, Engel was partner at policy and opinion research agency, Public First where she established the energy and infrastructure practice. ^[25]

From September 2022, Engel co-founded Palace Yard with former Public First associate, Tom Waterhouse, where she is now CEO. Palace Yard is a cross-party policy and research institute which specialises in making complex policy accessible to policy-makers. ^[26]

Personal life

In 2012, she and her veterinary surgeon husband divorced; they have three sons. ^[11]

References

1. "Natascha Engel: Biography". Politics. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
2. Kyla Mandel; Mat Hope (9 June 2017). "What Does a Hung Parliament Mean for Energy and Climate Change Issues?".
3. "Director presents Awards at PSA Ceremony". University of Edinburgh Academy of Government. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
4. Nelson, Fraser (5 November 2015). "Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year 2015: the winners". The Spectator. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
5. Engel, Natascha (31 October 2011). "Parliament Week and contributing to democracy". Total Politics. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
6. Waller, Robert; Criddle, Byron (2007). The Almanac of British Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 351. ISBN   9780415378246.
7. Natascha Engel on LinkedIn
8. "Reform of the House of Commons Committee". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
9. "Election for Chair of Backbench Business Committee—Result" (PDF). House of Commons. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
10. "Natascha Engel Recognized As "Backbencher of the Year"". The Chesterfield Post. 7 July 2011. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
11. Elliott, Amber (21 April 2012). "Engel: 'The last two years have been hell on earth'". Total Politics. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
12. "EU referendum: Rebels lose vote in Commons". BBC News. 25 October 2011. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
13. "Natascha Engel Elected Chair of the Backbench Business Committee". House of Commons. 17 May 2012. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
14. "Page cannot be found". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
15. Youth Affairs Group ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, British Youth Council.
16. Charity award winners announced ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, 28 November 2007.
17. Derbyshire Times, 13 December 2007
18. BYC Honorary President Archived 1 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine .
19. "Review of past ACA payments" (PDF). House of Commons Members Estimate Committee. 4 February 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
20. "MPs told they should repay thousands in expenses row". Derby Telegraph. 14 October 2009. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
21. "Labour Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018.
22. Pidd, Helen (29 June 2017). "Derbyshire North-East: 'In our part of the world Corbyn wasn't an asset'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
23. "Natascha Engel appointed as Commissioner for Shale Gas". Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
24. Perry, Claire. "Letter to Clive Betts MP" (PDF). Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee . House of Commons of the United Kingdom . Retrieved 28 April 2019.
25. Delahunty, Stephen (2 July 2019). "Public First hires former House of Commons deputy speaker". PR Week. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
26. "London Influence: Nature calls — New think tank klaxon — Comms 101". POLITICO. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2023.

External links

• "Natascha Engel". Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Harry Barnes	Member of Parliament for North East Derbyshire 2005–2017	Succeeded by Lee Rowley