Peter Tapsell (British politician)

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The Right Honourable
 Sir Peter Tapsell
MP
Father of the House
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Alan Williams
Member of Parliament
for Louth and Horncastle
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 May 1997
Preceded by Constituency created
Majority 13,871 (27.5%)
Member of Parliament
for East Lindsey
In office
9 June 1983 – 1 May 1997
Preceded by Constituency created
Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Member of Parliament
for Horncastle
In office
31 March 1966 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by John Maitland
Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Member of Parliament
for Nottingham West
In office
8 October 1959 – 15 October 1964
Preceded by Tom O'Brien
Succeeded by Michael English
Personal details
Born 1 February 1930 (1930-02-01) (age 82)
Hove, Sussex, England
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Cecilia Hawke (1963-1971)
Gabrielle Mahieu (1974-present)
Alma mater Merton College, Oxford

Sir Peter Hannay Bailey Tapsell (born 1 February 1930) is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Louth and Horncastle. He has served in the House of Commons continuously since 1966 and was also previously an MP from 1959 to 1964. He has been the Father of the House since the 2010 general election.

Contents

[edit] Biography

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 an MA in Modern History in 1953, then a Diploma in Economics in 1954, during which time he was also Librarian of the Oxford Union (a senior office). He was personal assistant to Sir Anthony Eden during the 1955 general election. Tapsell contested the Wednesbury by-election in 1957, losing to the Labour victor John Stonehouse. He was Chairman of the Coningsby Club from 1957 until 1958.

He first entered Parliament in the 1959 general election, representing Nottingham West, and is the Conservatives' longest-serving MP albeit with a break in service (1964 to 1966). He is the only current MP of any party first elected in the 1950s, but the gap in his parliamentary service prevented him from being Father of the House until Alan Williams retired in 2010.

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 his present constituency. Tapsell was knighted in 1985.[1]

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".[2]

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".[3] He is opposed to the war in Afghanistan.

Guardian sketch writer Simon Hoggart frequently lavishes praise on Sir Peter, describing him as "the grandest of grandees" (July 2008)[4] that when in the Chamber, Tapsell rises "to speak, or rather to intone superbly" (January 2008)[5] and that "like the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone Park, [he] erupts at irregular but predictable intervals" (July 2009).[6]

In June 2011, it was announced Tapsell would be appointed as a Privy Counsellor in the 2011 Birthday Honours.[7] On 13 July 2011, he was sworn of Council.[8]

[edit] Personal life

Tapsell married the Hon Cecilia Hawke, daughter of the 9th Baron Hawke in 1963, with whom he had a son. They divorced in 1971. He subsequently married Gabrielle Mahieu in 1974.

[edit] References

  1. ^ London Gazette: no. 50221. pp. 10815–10816. 6 August 1985.
  2. ^ 'Hitler' jibe on UK campaign trail, CNN, 12 May 2001
  3. ^ Charities and religious leaders condemn Blair, The Independent 26 July 2006
  4. ^ Simon Hoggart "Tripped by an obvious trap", The Guardian, 3 July 2008
  5. ^ Simon Hoggart "A collective sigh of relief", The Guardian, 25 January 2008
  6. ^ Simon Hoggart "Why fight for high ground?", The Guardian, 13 July 2009
  7. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59808. p. 1. 11 June 2011.
  8. ^ Privy Council Office — Orders for 13 July 2011

[edit] External links

News articles
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Tom O'Brien		 Member of Parliament for Nottingham West
1959–1964		 Succeeded by
Michael English
Preceded by
John Maitland		 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–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Alan Williams		 Father of the House
2010–present		 Incumbent
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Ian Paisley		 Oldest sitting Member of Parliament
2010–present		 Incumbent
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