If he’s elected as the local MP for Hertsmere, the parliamentary constituency with the biggest Jewish population outside London, education will be one of his key areas of focus: “I really believe education is the foundation of society. And if we can get that right, it won't solve all of our problems, but it can go a long way to helping a lot of them. And investing in our young people really has to be a big priority.”
Tapper with volunteers out on the campaign trail[Missing Credit]
Despite Hertsmere being relatively low down on the Labour Party official list of target seats, a decent number of activists turned out for Tapper on the campaign trail when I accompanied them. His mission to unseat Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has star appeal. Joining him on the doorstep talking to local residents was Zack Davies, star of BBC’s hit show The Traitors. Not a standard feature for most parliamentary candidates’ Monday night on the doorstep.
Asked if we could see a Tapper family outing on the campaign trail, the would-be MP teased that as a possibility. The great-great grandson of the founder of Bloom’s restaurant is thankful for the support he’s been receiving in what can be a gruelling few period.
“I'm very lucky to have amazing support from my family and my fiancée,” he said.
Having a camera in his face growing up evidently did wonders for Tapper’s abilities as a public speaker – he is a clear communicator for someone who, by his own admission, has only been involved in Labour Party politics for under five years.
The ability to speak clearly to the public is something he shares with the member of the Shadow Cabinet he most admires — Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
“Communication has to be at the centre of politics,” he said.
As well as being “strong in the fight against antisemitism in the Labour Party and society,” Streeting is someone who, according to Tapper, can help the party’s ongoing efforts to rebuild trust and win over wavering voters.
Could Tapper realistically win? Dowden’s huge majority of over 21,000 at the 2019 General Election suggests this is unlikely. But with successive opinion polls giving Labour huge leads, and the potential chaos for the Conservatives caused by Nigel Farage’s surprise return to frontline politics as leader of Reform UK, it is not beyond the relam of possibility that Tapper could cause a major upheaval in Hertsmere.
“We've got a really, tough challenge ahead,” Tapper noted.
“Oliver Dowden has been the MP here for nine years. And the Conservatives have always had a Member of Parliament in Hertsmere.
“But things are looking up and it for the first time, it's looking possible. We had Labour do really well here in the local elections last year. People are fed up. People want change. They want something new.”
Despite this, he insisted things would not get personal between him and the deputy PM. His campaign, he claimed, is “about holding the Conservatives and the government accountable... it's about policy, and it's about delivering that change that we need.”
Could the hangover from Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party still cost them votes in July? Tapper acknowledged there was work to be done, saying: “I'm working hard every day to try and build that trust. Convincing Jewish voters who used to vote Labour and then went to the Conservatives and Jewish voters who've never voted Labour in their lifetimes.”
But, he insisted, Keir Starmer’s leadership means that “people are willing to have that conversation” because “they know he has changed the Labour Party.”
The Tapper family (Channel 4) [Missing Credit]