Peter Tapsell (British politician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir Peter Tapsell
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Tapsell at Prime Minister's Questions in September 2012
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| Father of the House of Commons | |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 30 March 2015 |
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| Speaker | John Bercow |
| 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 (Horncastle) & Michael Brotherton (Louth) |
| Succeeded by | Victoria Atkins |
| Member of Parliament for Nottingham West |
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| In office 8 October 1959 – 25 September 1964 |
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| Preceded by | Tom O'Brien |
| Succeeded by | Michael English |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Peter Hannay Bailey Tapsell
1 February 1930 Hove, Sussex, England |
| Died | 18 August 2018 (aged 88) Lincolnshire |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouses |
Cecilia Hawke
(m. 1963; div. 1971)Gabrielle Mahieu
(m. 1974) |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Merton College, Oxford |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch/service |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1948–1950 |
| Rank | Second lieutenant |
| Unit | Royal Sussex Regiment |
Sir Peter Hannay Bailey Tapsell (born February 1, 1930, died August 18, 2018) was a British politician. He was a member of the Conservative Party and served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for many years. An MP is someone elected to represent people in the House of Commons, where laws are made.
He worked in the House of Commons from 1966 to 2015 without a break. He was also an MP earlier, from 1959 to 1964. From 2010 to 2015, he held the special title of Father of the House. This title goes to the MP who has served the longest without interruption.
Contents
Early Life and School
Tapsell was born in Hove, a town in Sussex, England. He went to Tonbridge School. After school, he served in the Royal Sussex Regiment from 1948 to 1950.
He then continued his studies at Merton College, Oxford, a famous university. In 1954, he earned a degree in Modern History. While at Oxford, he was also chosen to be the Librarian of the Oxford Union, which is a big debating society.
Peter Tapsell's Political Journey
Peter Tapsell began his political career by helping Sir Anthony Eden during the 1955 general election. A general election is when people vote for who they want to represent them in Parliament.
Becoming an MP
In 1957, Tapsell tried to become an MP in a special election called a by-election, but he did not win. He first became an MP in the 1959 general election, representing an area called Nottingham West.
He lost his seat in the 1964 election. However, he was elected again in 1966 for Horncastle. He represented this area until 1983.
Later, due to changes in constituency boundaries, he represented East Lindsey until 1997. After more boundary changes, he represented Louth and Horncastle until he retired in 2015.
Key Political Views
In 1985, Peter Tapsell was given the title of Knight, so he became "Sir Peter Tapsell". He was known for having strong opinions. He supported Keynesian economics, which is an idea about how governments can help the economy grow. He disagreed with the economic ideas of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
He was one of the few Conservative MPs to vote against a government budget in 1981. This was a very brave move and showed his independent thinking.
Speaking Out and Controversies
Sir Peter Tapsell was not afraid to speak his mind, even if it caused debate. In 2001, he compared a German leader's ideas about Europe to those of Adolf Hitler.
He also strongly disagreed with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He even called for Prime Minister Tony Blair to be investigated for misleading Parliament about the Iraq war.
Views on Europe
Sir Peter was a strong Eurosceptic. This means he believed that Britain should not be part of the European Union (EU). He felt that many problems in Britain came from joining the EU. He was very proud of opposing the Maastricht Treaty, which was an important agreement for the EU. He believed that being in the EU made the House of Commons less powerful.
Later Career and Retirement
In 2005, he was one of only two non-Labour MPs to vote for a law allowing police to hold terror suspects for up to 90 days without charge. In 2011, he became a Privy Counsellor. This is a group of important advisors to the King or Queen.
In March 2014, he announced that he would retire from Parliament at the 2015 general election. He had served in the House of Commons for over 50 years, which is a very long time!
Personal Life
Sir Peter Tapsell married Cecilia Hawke in 1963. They had one son, James. They divorced in 1971. Later, in 1974, he married Gabrielle Mahieu.
Sir Peter Tapsell passed away on August 18, 2018, at the age of 88.
