Sydney Norman John Rapson (born 17 April 1942,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

) is a former Labour MP for Portsmouth North.

Early life

He moved with his family to the

Paulsgrove Paulsgrove is an area of northern Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Initially a small independent hamlet for many centuries, it was admitted to the city limits in 1920 and grew rapidly after the end of the Second World War. History Paulsgrove exi ...

area of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

as a young child, where he attended Paulsgrove Modern (now King Richard School). After leaving school he worked in the aeronautical industry for nearly forty years, and became a long serving

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

, serving as Lord Mayor of Portsmouth in 1990.

Political career

He was elected as the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for

Portsmouth North Portsmouth North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Penny Mordaunt, the current Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council. She is a Conservative MP. Boundaries 191 ...

at the 1997 general election until he retired in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. He was succeeded by

Sarah McCarthy-Fry Sarah Louise McCarthy-Fry (' Macaree; born 4 February 1955) is a British Labour Co-operative politician. She was the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North from the 2005 general election to 2010. She was Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury ...

. Rapson stood for union improvement. He had stronger trade union credentials than many of the 1997 intake, having spent many years as an

Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU) was a British trade union. It merged with the MSF to form Amicus in 2001. History The union was founded in 1992, when the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) finally achieved a merger w ...

activist and convener, which also gave him the strong interest in

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

, the hallmark of his parliamentary career. He joined the Commons Defence Select Committee after the 2001 election. He sat for four years on the

Accommodation and Works Committee The Administration Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It has a remit "to consider the services provided for and by the House of Commons". Membership As of July 2022, the members of t ...

Other work

In 2001, Rapson was one of a number of MPs stung by the satirical Channel 4 documentary series ''

Brass Eye ''Brass Eye'' is a British satirical television series parodying current affairs news programming. A series of six episodes aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001. The series was created and presented by Chris Morris, writte ...

,'' which filmed him for its controversial "Paedogeddon!" episode. He was filmed describing "trust-me trousers", which were supposedly worn by paedophiles and inflated to hide an erection. The programme-makers also persuaded him to say that paedophiles were using "an area of internet the size of Ireland". The MP complained to the Broadcasting Standards Commission that he had been duped into appearing on the show and that it had infringed his privacy. The BSC ruled against him, saying the means used to deceive the MPs "were justified in the context of the serious issues raised by the programme" and in particular "the dangers of people in the public eye speaking with apparent authority about matters they do not understand". He led the team that headed the development of Portsmouth City's Gunwharf Quays, a large leisure and retail center located near the famous Portsmouth docks and the district of Portsea. The 'Quays' saw huge success, becoming the tourist capital of the city. In 2018, Rapson was awarded the key of the city for his contributions and accomplishments in regards to representation and contributions for the city. This award was last given in 2008 and is only held by 32 others over a century of Portsmouth's history. Rapson retired in 2005 and still lives in Portchester and Portsmouth to this day, with his wife Phyllis Rapson. He has two children and four grand children.

References

External links

*
Rapson political profile
theyworkforyou.com; accessed 9 July 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rapson, Syd 1942 births Living people People from Paulsgrove Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 Councillors in Hampshire British trade unionists Politicians from the Isle of Wight Labour Party (UK) councillors