Mike Tapp is the Labour MP for Dover and Deal, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Tapp won 18,940 votes, representing 39.6% of the vote. The Reform UK candidate, Howard Cox, received 11,355 votes (23.8%), while the Conservative candidate Stephen James secured 10,370 votes (21.7%). Tapp was duly elected with a majority of 7,585.  

The Dover and Deal constituency is located in Kent, in the South East of England. Tapp’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Dover was Natalie Elphicke. She was elected as a Conservative in 2019 but defected to the Labour Party in May 2024, shortly before the general election was called. Elphicke stood down from parliament in 2024.

Political Career

Tapp served as parliamentary under-secretary of state for migration and citizenship in the Home Office from September 2025 to July 2026. He left government as part of the July 2026 reshuffle conducted by Andy Burnham upon his appointment as prime minister.

In a statement issued upon leaving the role, Tapp said every decision he “made in the Home Office began with my top priority: our national security.”

He added: “I am disappointed to be leaving government, but I have no regrets remaining loyal to Keir Starmer until the end.

“This Labour government must succeed – for the good of our country. I will be working every single day to help deliver for the British people.”

In November 2024, Tapp was appointed as an honorary vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel. LFI is one of the most established and prominent advocacy groups within Labour, campaigning for a strong bilateral relationship between the UK and Israel and working to bolster ties with its sister party, Israeli Labor. The organisation advocates for a two-state solution, with a secure Israel alongside a “viable, democratic and independent” Palestinian state. Tapp appeared to leave this LFI role upon taking up a ministerial position.

At the beginning of the parliament elected in 2024, Tapp stood unsuccessfully for election as chair of the justice committee. In the contest, the results of which were announced in September 2024, Tapp secured 149 votes, placing second. He was ultimately defeated by Andy Slaughter, who won the support of 400 colleagues.

In his official campaign statement, Tapp said: “My work at the National Crime Agency, and in a counter-terrorism role, has provided me with extensive, real-world experience across our judicial system…

“I am fearless in holding individuals to account, regardless of their position or status.”

Tapp has sat as a member of the House of Commons justice committee (2024-2025).

Tapp delivered his maiden speech on 21 October 2024 during a debate on the Employment Rights Bill.

In it, he said: “I am a proud small business owner and a union member, and it is fantastic to see so many Labour members who are small business owners speaking in support of the Bill.”

He added: “As we debate the future of workers’ rights, I want to say on record that the P&O Ferries scandal, which affected so many of my constituents, must never be repeated. That is why I fully support this bill.”

During the 2024 general election campaign, Tapp said he would not have stood for parliament during Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as leader.

Political Views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Tapp was one of 175 Labour MPs who nominated Bridget Phillipson for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Phillipson, the serving education secretary, was widely viewed as the candidate favoured by Downing Street and the party leadership. She secured 175 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 80 required to reach the final ballot. She was ultimately defeated by Lucy Powell.

Factional identity and party tradition

Get Britain Working Group: Tapp has been listed as a member of the Get Britain Working Group of Labour MPs – a caucus supportive of the Starmer leadership’s position on welfare. The group argues for a “new social contract built on employment and opportunity”, focusing on the rising number of people out of the workforce due to long-term sickness.

In an open letter, issued upon the group’s founding in March 2025, the group expressed its support for the government’s welfare measures set out in the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. The bill was subject to a significant revolt of over 120 Labour MPs – which forced ministers into a series of concessions shortly before its first vote in the House of Commons.

Ahead of the bill’s fraught second reading debate, the MPs wrote: “Our Labour values are built on a simple but powerful idea: that every individual, regardless of background or circumstance, should have the support they need to make the most of their lives.”

Labour Growth Group: Tapp has been listed as a member of the Labour Growth Group (LGG) – a vocal faction of backbenchers committed to ensuring economic growth remains the central mission of the government. The group, largely composed of MPs from the 2024 intake, positions itself as the voice of “the builders, not the blockers” and provides organised support for ministers taking on politically difficult decisions in the name of economic expansion.

In an open letter addressed to Keir Starmer, issued upon the group’s founding in July 2024, LGG MPs said it was imperative that “the government grasps the nettle and goes for growth”.

They added: “This absolutely has to start with the sweeping planning reforms to get Britain building again. Under the Tories, planning permissions for new homes hit record lows and housebuilding cratered. Indeed, not once in their 14 years in power did the Conservatives meet their housing targets.”

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Tapp voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Assisted dying

Tapp voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Before Politics

Michael Adrian Tapp was born in February 1985.

Tapp served in the British Army Intelligence Corps from 2007 to 2012. He completed three operational tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Following his military service, he joined the National Crime Agency (2012-2015) and the Ministry of defence (2015-2020).  

Personal Life

Tapp’s father was a police officer.

He is married. His wife is Estonian and came to Britain at 18 years of age.

He has two dogs, Scooby and Monki.

Tapp has described Scooby as his “best mate”.

In his 2024 maiden speech, Tapp told the House: “My commitment to public service and hard work stems well and truly from my upbringing.

“One grandad flew the Catalina flying boats that took out Nazi submarines, and then went on to sell Colman’s mustard from Cambridge. The other grandad was a lifelong, distinguished Royal Mail worker, and that generation’s unwavering spirit of hard work runs through my family.”

Trivia

The Observer newspaper featured Tapp among the “five fresh Labour MPs to watch” in a July 2024 article.

The paper stated: “With Channel small-boat crossings likely to remain an issue in the new parliament, Tapp could become an important voice. In an area that is targeted by Reform UK, Tapp’s military background and work with the National Crime Agency also make him a compelling figure.”

Tapp is one of Labour’s most vocal MPs on social media, and has clashed with Reform UK politician Zia Yusuf.

In May 2026, responding to Yusuf, Tapp stated: “Reform don’t have a plan and while they squabble amongst themselves, the government is actually bringing down immigration.

“The Reform rag tag are in chaos, making it up as they go along.”