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Michael Tappin

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Mike Tappin
Member of the European Parliament
for Staffordshire West & Congleton
In office
1994–1999
Preceded byNew Constituency
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Majority40,277
Personal details
Born
Michael Tappin

22 December 1946
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Essex
OccupationAcademic, author, politician

Michael Tappin (born 22 December 1946) is a British academic, author and politician.

Education

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Tappin graduated a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Essex, he has also been educated at Strathclyde University and the London School of Economics.

Career

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Tappin started lecturing at Keele University in 1974. He also worked in the field of politics across the world, being on the campaign team of US Senators. His particular specialization was in American politics.

Tappin was nominated as the Labour Party candidate in the 1994 European Parliament election for the seat of Staffordshire West and Congleton. He won the seat,[1] defeating Conservative Party candidate Anthony Brown. The other two candidates for the seat represented Liberal Democrats, Green and Natural Law parties. Unusually, all parties claimed to be the 'opposition' in the seat - Labour and Lib Dems because of boundary changes, Conservatives because they were in a minority in the European Parliament. Mr Tappin was supported in his campaign by a talented team of young Labour members. The 'inner core' of this team, as one local councillor put it, made the John F. Kennedy campaign look like aged amateurs. He was given a five-year leave of absence from his duties at Keele University, as his important work in the EU saw him work on budget issues. Tappin lost his seat under the new list system in 1999.

Tappin continued his involvement in politics and won the Stoke-on-Trent Council seat for Blurton.[2] In 2007, he became Leader of the Labour group on the Stoke-on-Trent City Council. One major decision under his watch was the sale of the Council's stake in the Britannia Stadium to Stoke City F.C. for £4.5 million.[3] However, in the May 2008 local elections he lost his seat.[4]

He retired from his post at Keele University in 2010, after 36 years at the institution.

Bibliography

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  • American Politics Today (co-author)

Publications

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  • British Journal of Political Science
  • Politics Today

References

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  1. ^ Third Term of the European Parliament, European Parliament Website Archives europarl.europa.eu
  2. ^ "BNP makes gains in Stoke-on-Trent". BBC News. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  3. ^ "Club sale share detail 'withheld'". BBC Sport. 14 October 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  4. ^ Watson, Nick (3 May 2008). "Tory triumphs, Labour losses". BBC News. Retrieved 17 December 2009.