Mike Thomas (politician)
| Mike Thomas | |
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Member of Parliament for Newcastle-upon-Tyne East |
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In office 10 October 1974 – 9 June 1983 |
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| Preceded by | Geoffrey William Rhodes |
| Succeeded by | Nick Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 May 1944 |
| Political party | Labour Party (1970-81); Social Democratic Party (1981-88); 'continuing' Social Democratic Party (1988-90) |
Michael Stuart Thomas (born 24 May 1944) is a former British politician, identified with the Labour Party until 1981 and thereafter with the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He became well known for his role in both the establishment of the SDP and then in the SDP's subsequent demise. The SDP's leader, Roy Jenkins, referred to Thomas as the "pint-sized Pavarotti", on the basis of his stocky build and beard together with his aggressive manner.
Thomas was educated at the Latymer Upper School and King's School in Macclesfield. Both were independent sector schools. He studied at Liverpool University from 1962 to 1966, graduating with a BA degree. From 1965 to 1966 he served as President of the Liverpool University Guild of Students and from 1966 to 1968 he was a member of the National Executive of the National Union of Students.
He initially made a career in political research, acting as head of the Co-operative Party's research department from 1966 to 1968 and as a research associate with the predecessor body of the Policy Studies Institute from 1968 to 1973. He stood as the Labour Party candidate for the constituency of East Hertfordshire in the 1970 general election. On that occasion, Thomas lost to the Conservative Party candidate by a 14,000 vote margin.
Thomas continued in his quest to find a seat in Parliament and eventually succeeded at Newcastle-upon-Tyne East in September 1974, after the death at age 45 of the sitting Labour member Geoff Rhodes. Thomas's rivals for the Labour candidature included a number of local Party activists, notably the prominent local councillor Jeremy Beecham. As an outsider to Newcastle Labour politics, Thomas won the selection vote with the support of left-wing and anti-establishment elements in the local Party. One of the party members who voted for Thomas at the selection meeting later characterised him as "... the classic 'man who got off the train from Kings Cross'. His key asset was that nobody knew anything about him."
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