Peter Tapsell (British politician)
| The Right Honourable Sir Peter Tapsell |
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|---|---|
| Father of the House | |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 7 May 2015 |
|
| Preceded by | Alan Williams |
| Succeeded by | Sir Gerald Kaufman |
| Member of Parliament for Louth and Horncastle Horncastle (1966–1983), East Lindsey (1983–1997) |
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| In office 31 March 1966 – 30 March 2015 |
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| Preceded by | John Maitland |
| Succeeded by | Victoria Atkins |
| Member of Parliament for Nottingham West |
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| In office 8 October 1959 – 15 October 1964 |
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| Preceded by | Tom O'Brien |
| Succeeded by | Michael English |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 February 1930 Hove, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Cecilia Hawke (1963–1971) Gabrielle Mahieu (1974–present) |
| Alma mater | Merton College, Oxford |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1948–1950 |
Sir Peter Hannay Bailey Tapsell (born 1 February 1930) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom and the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Louth and Horncastle. He served in the House of Commons continuously from 1966 until 2015 and was also previously an MP from 1959 to 1964. He was Father of the House between 2010 and 2015.
Contents
Early life and education
Tapsell was born in Hove. He was educated at Tonbridge School, served in the Royal Sussex Regiment from 1948 to 1950, and continued his education at Merton College, Oxford, gaining a BA in Modern History in 1954, during which time he was also elected Librarian of the Oxford Union (a senior office).[1] Tapsell was a member of the Oxford University Labour Club during his time at Oxford, alongside Gerald Kaufman. Tapsell's father and his grandparents were born in India.
Political career
Tapsell was personal assistant to Sir Anthony Eden during the 1955 general election.[1] He contested the Wednesbury by-election in 1957,[1] losing to the Labour Party's John Stonehouse. He was chairman of the Coningsby Club from 1957 until 1958.[1]
He first entered Parliament in the 1959 general election, representing Nottingham West,[1] and was the Conservatives' longest-serving MP albeit with a break in service (1964 to 1966). He was from 2005 the only MP of any party first elected in the 1950s, but the two-year gap in his parliamentary service prevented him from being Father of the House until Alan Williams retired in 2010. He is one of a few MPs in parliamentary history to have served over 50 years in the House of Commons.
After losing his seat at the 1964 general election, he was selected for Horncastle, representing that seat from 1966 to 1983. In 1983, boundary changes moved Tapsell to East Lindsey, which he represented until 1997 when boundary changes moved him to Louth and Horncastle. Tapsell was knighted in 1985.[2]
Tapsell is known for his forthright views and is no stranger to controversy. In May 2001, he made headlines during the UK general election campaign when comparing German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's vision of Europe to Adolf Hitler's: "We may not have studied Hitler's Mein Kampf in time but, by heaven, there is no excuse for us not studying the Schröder plan now".[3]
On 9 November 2005 he was the only Conservative MP, and one of only two non-Labour MPs, to vote in favour of a proposal to allow police to detain terror suspects for up to 90 days without charge.
In July 2006, he said that Israeli action in Lebanon was "gravely reminiscent of the Nazi atrocity on the Jewish quarter of Warsaw".[4] He is opposed to the war in Afghanistan.[citation needed]
Guardian sketch writer Simon Hoggart frequently lavished praise on Sir Peter, describing him as "the grandest of grandees" (July 2008)[5] that when in the Chamber, Tapsell rises "to speak, or rather to intone superbly" (January 2008)[6] and that "like the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone Park, [he] erupts at irregular but predictable intervals" (July 2009).[7]
In June 2011, it was announced Tapsell would be appointed as a Privy Counsellor in the 2011 Birthday Honours.[8] On 13 July 2011, he was sworn of Council.[9]
In March 2012, Tapsell was reported as being one of the Conservative MPs to have spoken critically of Party Co-Chairman Sayeeda Warsi at a meeting of the 1922 Committee, following Warsi's handling of Roger Helmer MEP's defection to UKIP.[10]
On 21 March 2014, he announced his intention to step down from Parliament at the 2015 general election,[11] and also gave an interview where he was highly critical of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in whose government he briefly served in the 1980s.[12]
Personal life
Tapsell married the Hon Cecilia Hawke, third daughter of the 9th Baron Hawke in 1963, with whom he had a son, James (b. 1966), who committed suicide in 1985.[13] They divorced in 1971, and Cecilia later married Tapsell's fellow Conservative politician Sir Nicholas Scott in 1979.[14] Tapsell subsequently married Gabrielle Mahieu in 1974.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 50221. pp. 10815–10816. 6 August 1985.
- ↑ 'Hitler' jibe on UK campaign trail, CNN, 12 May 2001
- ↑ Charities and religious leaders condemn Blair, The Independent 26 July 2006
- ↑ Simon Hoggart "Tripped by an obvious trap", The Guardian, 3 July 2008
- ↑ Simon Hoggart "A collective sigh of relief", The Guardian, 25 January 2008
- ↑ Simon Hoggart "Why fight for high ground?", The Guardian, 13 July 2009
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59808. p. 1. 11 June 2011.
- ↑ Privy Council Office — Orders for 13 July 2011
- ↑ http://politics.standard.co.uk/2012/03/tories-give-warsi-both-barrels.html
- ↑ "MP Sir Peter Tapsell to stand down in 2015", BBC News, 21 March 2014
- ↑ Sir Peter Tapsell: 'My biggest mistake in politics was to listen to Mrs Thatcher' Daily Telegraph, 21 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Sir Peter Tapsell Conservative Party profile
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
- News articles
- Apologise for Henry VIII, MP says, BBC News, 30 November 2006
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Nottingham West 1959–1964 |
Succeeded by Michael English |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Horncastle 1966–1983 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for East Lindsey 1983–1997 |
|
| Member of Parliament for Louth and Horncastle 1997–2015 |
Succeeded by Victoria Atkins |
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| Preceded by | Father of the House 2010–2015 |
Succeeded by Gerald Kaufman |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Oldest sitting Member of Parliament 2010–2015 |
Succeeded by Gerald Kaufman |
- Articles with unsourced statements from January 2014
- 1930 births
- Alumni of Merton College, Oxford
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- Knights Bachelor
- Living people
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- People educated at Tonbridge School
- People educated at Heath Mount School
- Royal Sussex Regiment officers
- UK MPs 1959–64
- UK MPs 1966–70
- UK MPs 1970–74
- UK MPs 1974
- UK MPs 1974–79
- UK MPs 1979–83
- UK MPs 1983–87
- UK MPs 1987–92
- UK MPs 1992–97
- UK MPs 1997–2001
- UK MPs 2001–05
- UK MPs 2005–10
- UK MPs 2010–15
