A former MP is on the hunt for a new home for his collection of five decades of Private Eye
The collection belongs to Sir Robert Atkins, the ex-Conservative MP for Preston North and, later, South Ribble, and dates back to 1969 - reports Katie Potter
The 600 plus magazines, all bound by year of publication, are taking over Sir Robert’s house. And with no interest so far, the vast collection may soon be destined for the tip.
For decades the political magazine has been known for its satirical jokes, cartoons and investigative nature, gaining many readers like Sir Robert and his friends.
“Private Eye is unique. When it first came out it was probably the only magazine of its type,” explains Sir Robert.
“I can’t tell you how scurrilous it was at the time which is why of course people like me and young politicians across the political spectrum had to read it because there was so much muck in it, most of which was true!
“Indeed I was featured on more than one occasion, both as a backbench member of parliament and then as a minister, a good amount of which was completely untrue but very funny. But now, I didn’t at the time I don’t think, I laugh merrily at them.
“So it has a place and the editor, whether it was Richard Ingrams or the present editor, are significant players on the journalist stage and it would be a pity for this collection to be lost in the tip.”
With a political career spanning nearly four decades, Sir Robert is no stranger to the world of politics.
He was first elected to a local council in London in 1968, becoming the youngest councillor at just 21 years old.
He later went on to become the MP for Preston North in 1979 and when the boundaries changed he moved across the river to South Ribble in 1983 before losing his seat in 1997.
He went on to become a member of the European Parliament where he stayed for 15 years.
“Well no politician in the 60s and certainly the 70s could exist without Private Eye because it gave you all the dirt on everyone else and if you weren’t careful the dirt on yourself so it was required reading by everyone and I got it along with all my friends,” says Sir Robert.
“But it wasn’t until 1969 that I began putting them in the binders and collecting the various issues and I’ve still got it and it’s still read with great fascination.
“I’ve now reached the stage where I don’t know what to do with it because I’ve got 55/56 years of it and as you know it’s one of those things which is a snapshot of life and politics and satire over that period and it’s too good to throw away.”
So far, Sir Robert’s attempts at finding his beloved collection a new home have proven to be rather unsuccessful.
“I’ve been to some local auctioneers, admittedly these are conventional auctioneers rather than magazines or newspapers, but there’s not really been much interest,” he explains.
“I tried the Lancashire Archives who were fascinated but didn’t have the space.
“I tried the university which was fascinated but also didn’t have the space.
“I even sent Private Eye a message saying I’ve got this collection and they said we’ve got our own one thank you very much, which is fair enough really.
“Other than that frankly I was going to put them all in the car and take them to the tip which would be a great shame.”
Despite his difficulty rehoming this journalistic gem, Sir Robert still has hope.
“I would guess that there aren’t many collections such as mine and if you pick up a copy of a 19th century volume of Punch, which is the equivalent in those days of what Private Eye is now, it’s fascinating reading which is why I’ve been loathed to destroy or throw these away.
“Someone ought to be and probably would be interested and I want to find that person.”
The question is once they’ve gone will Sir Robert continue to collect?
“I can’t put Private Eye down if you look over there you’ll see the current edition and clearly a lot of the people are not contemporaries of mine as they used to be years ago but I still read it and I still watch out for anything involved in politics in one sort or another.
“So yes I will continue to read Private Eye but whether I continue to collect them, I’m not sure.”
We contacted Private Eye for a comment and they responded: “We want to thank Sir Robert for his readership for so many years and we hope he finds someone appreciative for the collection.”
So can an enthusiastic new custodian be found before this piece of political and journalistic history ends up on the tip?
If you are interested you can contact Sir Robert Atkins on via ratsmep@sir-robertatkins.org