Mike Gapes

Mike Gapes
Mike Gapes MP
Member of Parliament
for Ilford South
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 April 1992
Preceded by Neil Thorne
Majority 11,297 (22.1%)
Personal details
Born 4 September 1952 (1952-09-04) (age 59)
Snaresbrook, Essex, England
Nationality British
Political party Labour Co-operative
Alma mater Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Middlesex University
Website www.mikegapes.org.uk

Michael John "Mike" Gapes (born 4 September 1952) is a British Labour Co-operative politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford South since 1992.

Mike Gapes was born in Wanstead Hospital in what became the London Borough of Redbridge, the son of a postman, and educated locally at the Staples Road Infants' School in Loughton and the Manford County Primary School in Chigwell, before attending the Buckhurst Hill County High School. He continued his studies at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge where he was awarded a master's degree in economics in 1975; he also served as the secretary of the university's students' union in 1973. He completed his education at the Middlesex Polytechnic in Enfield where he earned a diploma in industrial relations in 1976.

Except for a spell as a VSO teacher in Swaziland in a gap year before attending university in 1972, and a few months working as an administrator at the Middlesex Hospital in 1976, he has worked entirely in full time politics either for the Labour Party or as an elected Member of Parliament. He was national student organiser of the Labour Party in the late 1970s, taking over from Barry Clarke. He contested Ilford North at the 1983 General Election but was defeated by the sitting Conservative MP Vivian Bendall by some 11,201 votes. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1992 General Election for Ilford South when he ousted the sitting Conservative MP Neil Thorne by just 402 votes and has remained the MP there since. He made his maiden speech on 8 May 1992.[1]

In Parliament he joined the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in 1992 and after the 1997 General Election he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office Paul Murphy and also worked for the other Minister of State Adam Ingram until 1999 when he joined the defence select committee. Following the 2001 General Election he was again appointed a PPS to the Minister of State at the Home Office Jeff Rooker for a year. He rejoined the defence select committee in 2003 and since the 2005 General Election he has served as the chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, the most senior position in international affairs in British politics outside the Government.

He has been an officer of many all party Parliamentary Groups, he is currently Chairman of the All Party Crossrail Group, a former chairman of the United Nations group and a former Vice chairman of Labour Friends of Israel. He was part of the Northern Ireland team which negotiated the Belfast Agreement in Belfast in 1998. He has travelled widely on parliamentary business including to Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, Japan, Korea, Russia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Angola, and Sierra Leone.

During the 2001 and 2005 General Election campaigns, he was the target of some Muslim groups seeking to unseat him because of his alleged anti-Muslim bias. However, other Muslims attacked these groups as "extremists", and they seem to have had little effect on his majority.[citation needed]

He is very pro-European once declaring that he would prefer closer ties rather than Britain becoming an amusement park for American and Japanese tourists. He is a keen supporter of West Ham United F.C..

Publications

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ilford South (UK Parliament constituency) — UK constituency infobox alt Name = Ilford South Type = Borough Entity = Greater London DivisionType = County Division = Greater London Year = 1945 MP = Mike Gapes Party = Labour Co operative EP = LondonIlford South is a constituency represented… …   Wikipedia

  • List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2005 — 52nd Parliament (1997) 53rd Parliament (2001) 54th Parliament (2005) 55th Parliament (2010) This is a list of Members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the House of Commons for the Fifty Fourth Parliament of the United Kingdom at the 2005 general… …   Wikipedia

  • Labour Students — Infobox Political Youth Organization name english = Labour Students chair = Sarah Mulholland colorcode = Red foundation = 1970 headquarters = London ideology = Democratic socialism social democratic international = regional1 type = European… …   Wikipedia

  • List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2010 — 2001–2005 (2001) 2005–2010 (2005) 2010– (2010) This is a list of Members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the House of Commons for the 55th Parliament of the United Kingdom at the 2010 general election. The list is arranged by constituency. New MPs …   Wikipedia

  • List of current United Kingdom MPs by party — This is a list of current Members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the British House of Commons by political party. The names in bold are the leaders of their party, the names in italics are the current Speaker and Deputy Speakers and the names… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste Des Députés Du Royaume-Uni De La 53e Législature 2001-2005 — législature (1997) 53e législature (2001) législature (2005) Ceci est une liste des députés élus à la Chambre des communes pour la 53e législature du Royaume Uni. Les élections législatives partielles sont notées en bas de page. Le Parlement a… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des deputes du Royaume-Uni de la 53e legislature 2001-2005 — Liste des députés du Royaume Uni de la 53e législature 2001 2005 législature (1997) 53e législature (2001) législature (2005) Ceci est une liste des députés élus à la Chambre des communes pour la 53e législature du Royaume Uni. Les élections… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des députés du Royaume-Uni de la 53e législature 2001-2005 — 1997) 53e législature (2001) 2005) Ceci est une liste des députés élus à la Chambre des communes pour la 53e législature du Royaume Uni. Les élections législatives partielles sont notées en bas de page. Le Parlement a été dissout le 11 avril 2005 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des députés du royaume-uni de la 53e législature 2001-2005 — législature (1997) 53e législature (2001) législature (2005) Ceci est une liste des députés élus à la Chambre des communes pour la 53e législature du Royaume Uni. Les élections législatives partielles sont notées en bas de page. Le Parlement a… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of Labour Party (UK) MPs — This is a list of Labour Party MPs. It includes all Members of Parliament elected to the British House of Commons representing the Labour Party from 1900 to 1923 and since 1997. Members of the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly or the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”