Mike Tapp
Mike Tapp | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship | |
| Assumed office 6 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Seema Malhotra |
| Member of Parliament for Dover and Deal | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Natalie Elphicke |
| Majority | 7,585 (15.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Adrian Tapp February 1985 (age 41) |
| Party | Labour |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | miketapp |
Michael Adrian Tapp[1] (born February 1985) is a British Labour Party politician and former soldier who has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship since September 2025. He has been the Member of Parliament for Dover and Deal since 2024.[2]
Early life and career
[edit]Tapp was born in February 1985.[3] He grew up in Hertfordshire; his mother was a care worker and his father was a police officer. He left university early and enlisted in the British Army at the age of 20, serving in the Intelligence Corps as an intelligence analyst and completing three operational tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also worked as a window cleaner and barman.[4][5]
After leaving the army, Tapp worked in an intelligence role at the National Crime Agency, focusing on serious and organised crime, and later in a counter-terrorism role at the Ministry of Defence.[5]
Tapp joined the Labour Party while serving in the army. He left government service in 2020 to pursue a career in politics, and unsuccessfully contested the 2021 Kent County Council election in Tunbridge Wells North and the 2022 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council election in St John's ward.[6][7][8] Tapp was selected as Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Dover and Deal in 2022.[6]
Before entering Parliament, Tapp worked as a senior parliamentary assistant to John Spellar until 5 July 2024.[9] He also worked with Yvette Cooper on Labour's immigration and border security policy.[10] Tapp is also a part-owner, with his wife, of a dog day care business.[11][3]
Parliamentary career
[edit]At the 2024 general election, Tapp was elected MP for Dover and Deal, winning 18,940 votes and a majority of 7,585. Reform UK candidate Howard Cox came second with 11,355 votes, while Conservative candidate Stephen James came third with 10,370 votes.[12][13] The predecessor constituency of Dover had been represented by Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke, who defected to Labour shortly before the election was called and did not stand for re-election.[6]
In November 2024, Tapp was appointed an honorary vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel, having previously joined one of the group's visits to Israel and Palestine while Labour's parliamentary candidate for Dover and Deal.[9][14] In August 2025, he opposed immediate UK recognition of a Palestinian state, arguing that recognition should be conditional on the release of Israeli hostages, Hamas disarmament and Hamas having no role in the governance of a future Palestinian state.[15]
Tapp has supported the use of return hubs for failed asylum seekers, while opposing withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights and the former Conservative government's Rwanda asylum plan.[4]
On 6 September 2025, Tapp was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship in the Home Office.[2][16]
References
[edit]- ^ "Members Sworn". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 752. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 10 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Mike Tapp MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ a b "Michael Adrian TAPP personal appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ a b Power, John (28 May 2025). "Mike Tapp: 'I'll never insult or belittle someone who votes Reform'". The Spectator. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ a b "About Mike". Mike Tapp MP. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ a b c Green, Daniel (2 July 2024). "Small boats and Tory mutineers: Can veteran Mike Tapp win Dover and Deal?". LabourList. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ "Election results for Tunbridge Wells North, 6 May 2021". Kent County Council. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ "Election results for St John's, 5 May 2022". Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ a b "The Register of Members' Financial Interests: Tapp, Mike". UK Parliament. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ Mitchell, Archie (9 June 2024). "Labour's Dover candidate: 'I would not have stood under Corbyn'". The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ "Register of Interests for Mike Tapp". UK Parliament. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ "Last election result for Mike Tapp". UK Parliament. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ "Declaration of result of poll: Dover and Deal" (PDF). Dover District Council. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ "Labour Friends of Israel announces three new honorary vice-chairs". Labour Friends of Israel. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ Tapp, Mike (5 August 2025). "Recognising a Palestinian state now will diminish Britain's relevance". Jewish News. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
- ^ "Ministerial appointments: September 2025". GOV.UK. 5 September 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
External links
[edit]
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Profile on OpenSanctions, an open database of sanctions and persons of interest