Tappin started lecturing at
Keele University in 1974. He also worked in the field of politics across the world, being on the campaign team of US Senators. His particular specialization was in American politics. Tappin was nominated as the
Labour Party candidate in the
1994 European Parliament election for the seat of Staffordshire West and Congleton. He won the seat, defeating
Conservative Party candidate Anthony Brown. The other two candidates for the seat represented
Liberal Democrats,
Green and
Natural Law parties. Unusually, all parties claimed to be the 'opposition' in the seat - Labour and Lib Dems because of boundary changes, Conservatives because they were in a minority in the European Parliament. Mr Tappin was supported in his campaign by a talented team of young Labour members. The 'inner core' of this team, as one local councillor put it, made the
John F. Kennedy campaign look like aged amateurs. He was given a five-year leave of absence from his duties at Keele University, as his important work in the EU saw him work on budget issues. Tappin lost his seat under the new
list system in 1999. Tappin continued his involvement in
politics and won the Stoke-on-Trent Council seat for
Blurton. In 2007, he became Leader of the Labour group on the Stoke-on-Trent City Council. One major decision under his watch was the sale of the Council's stake in the
Britannia Stadium to
Stoke City F.C. for £4.5 million. However, in the
May 2008 local elections he lost his seat. He retired from his post at Keele University in 2010, after 36 years at the institution. ==Bibliography==