Michael Cashman
Party: Labour
Contact information
Correspondence address:
West Midlands Labour European Office
Terry Duffy House
Thomas Street
West Bromwich
B70 6NT
Bus. phone: 01215691923
Additional Information
Elected
in 1999, Michael Cashman is a prominent
MEP representing the interests of West
Midlands.
Inside the Parliament, Michael Cashman
is a member of the European Parliament's Citizens' Freedoms and
Rights, Justice & Home Affairs Committee and is the 1st Vice
Chair on the Petitions Committee. He is also a substitute member of
the Regional Development Committee and the Sub Committee on Human
Rights.
Michael is also the President of the Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights, a cross-party
grouping of MEPs fighting in favour of
equal rights for LGBT individuals in Europe and throughout the world.
He is also an elected Member of the Labour Party National Executive
Committee since 1998.
Michael
was born in the East End of London in 1950. His birth was premature
by three weeks, primarliy due to his
mother attempting to defend her husband in a street fight outside
Stepney East station. His father was a dock worker and his mother a
proud office cleaner so Michael's father registered his son at
birth to become a dock worker when he left school. Fate decided
otherwise.
After failing his eleven plus school exam Michael attended a
catholic secondary modern school, Cardinal Griffin, and it was here
that he was discovered in an end of term school show. Within weeks
at the age of 12 he was performing in Lionel Barts musical OLIVER which was running in one
of London's west end
theatres. After some months he played Oliver and had the dubious
distinction of performing for Richard Nixon, who later became
President of the United States of
America.
His education continued at his secondary modern school but by then
career decisions had to be made and he was sent to a stage school
in Surbiton, Surrey,which seemed a
million miles away from his inner city home.At stage school Michael had his cockney accent
'knocked out' of him ,and he learnt to sing and dance whilst acting
in shows, films and television to pay for his school fees.
One of four sons he was the only one to become an actor and
subsequently the only one to go into politics - a passion he has
inherited from his father who was an active trade unionist.
Michael had a distinguished career as an actor and singer spanning
thirty seven years. He also worked as a director at
New VictoriaTheatre, Newcastle under
Lyme, and was made Associate Artist at
Birmingham Rep. During his career he worked with luminaries like
Lionel Bart, J. B Priestley, Sir Alan Ayckbourn (who directed two plays which were
written by Michael), Sir Ian McKellen,
Elizabeth Taylor, June Brown, Sir Elton John and David Hockney.
He has been an active campaigner across a wide range of issues and
is rightly proud of his important role in introducing pension
rights for members of the union EQUITY as well as being
instrumental in the unions modernisation programme when he was the
Honorary Treasurer. During his time on BBC TV's EastEnders he formed the Stonewall Group and was
its founding chair.
In July 2007 he was awarded an Honoury
Doctorate from the University
of Staffordshire
in recognition of his campaigning work on equality
and human rights issues.
Michael lives with his partner, Paul, and they have been together
for nearly 25 years. They celebrated their Civil Partnership in
2006.