Michael William Tuffrey is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as a member of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

(AM) for Londonwide from 2002 to 2012. He took his seat on 18 February 2002 replacing

Louise Bloom Louise Anne Harris (born 7 April 1964) is a Liberal Democrat politician who has served as a councillor on South Gloucestershire Council for Dodington since November 2018. As Louise Bloom, she was a member of the first London Assembly between 2000 ...

who had resigned. He was re-elected in 2004 and 2010 leading the Liberal Democrat group and chairing various London Assembly committees. He is a member of the

London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) was a functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA), established under the Greater London Authority Act 1999. Its principal purpose was to run the London Fire Brigade. The 17 members ...

first appointed in 2002 and serving as leader of the Liberal Democrat Group 2006 to 2008. Tuffrey was appointed to the London Sustainable Development Commission in 2004 and reappointed by Boris Johnson for a second term in 2008. Tuffrey was narrowly beaten by former Metropolitan Police officer

Brian Paddick Brian Leonard Paddick, Baron Paddick (born 24 April 1958), is a British politician and retired police officer, currently sitting in the House of Lords as a life peer. He was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral elections of 2 ...

in standing for nomination as the Liberal Democrats' candidate for Mayor of London in 2012.

Biography

Michael Tuffrey was born in

Orpington Orpington is a town and area in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Ma ...

and grew up in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

. He was educated at Douai School, an independent

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

school in

Woolhampton Woolhampton is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. The village straddles the Bath road between the towns of Reading, to the east, and Newbury, to the west. Geography The village homes are clustered on the northern side of ...

. He then studied Economics at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. He moved to

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

where he got his first job as an accountant and started his political life as a member of the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

(1985-6) and was a councillor of the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London ...

from 1990 to 2002. He stood in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, in the

1989 Vauxhall by-election A by-election for the United Kingdom House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons was held in the constituency of Vauxhall (UK Parliament constituency), Vauxhall on 15 June 1989, following the resignation of sitting Member of Parli ...

, and again in

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

in the 1992 General Election before leading Lambeth Council between 1994 and 1998. Tuffrey was Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly group from May 2006 until May 2010. He was a member of the Assembly's Environment, Planning and Housing, and Audit Committees and is Deputy Chair of the Budget and Performance Management Committee. The Evening Standard named Tuffrey as one of the thousand most influential Londoners for his work on the environment. Tuffrey is a qualified Chartered Accountant, and has worked as a finance director for a major national charity before starting up a consultancy business, Corporate Citizenship. Tuffrey is married and has three children. He lives with his family in Clapham,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He is a parishioner of St Mary's Catholic Church, Clapham.

London Mayoral campaign

Mike Tuffrey Mayoral Campaign Launch 2012 with Susan Kramer

On 15 June 2011, Tuffrey launched his bid to become the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London in the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

. Running against Lembit Öpik, Tuffrey was "widely tipped to become the Liberal Democrats' candidate". He emerged after nominations were reopened as the "anyone-but-Lembit" candidate, with Öpik's detractors claiming that he lacked gravitas and his supporters claiming only he had a sufficiently high-profile. However, in the event

emerged as the party's candidate.

References

Bibliography

*''Who's Who 2008'', (A. & C. Black, 2007)

External links

Mike Tuffrey
Liberal Democrat Voice members survey on London Mayoral Candidates

news about Mayor of London campaign
Mike Tuffrey
biography from the London Assembly

profile at the site of London Liberal Democrats {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuffrey, Mike 1959 births Living people Councillors in the London Borough of Lambeth Members of the Greater London Council Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates Alumni of University College, Durham Liberal Democrat Members of the London Assembly