Mike Waite has worked as a youth and community worker in Blackburn, Lancashire; on the Wirral, Merseyside; and as a local government officer in Burnley (all these municipalities are in North West England). He has also worked as a mediator, and as a facilitator and trainer in the field of conflict resolution.

From 2002 until 2018, his work for Burnley Council included responsibility for community engagement, ensuring compliance with equalities legislation, and promoting good race relations.

Mike holds an MPhil in Sociology (Lancaster University, 1992), and a number of post-graduate professional diplomas.

Mike’s articles and book reviews have appeared in a range of academic, cultural and political journals including Anarchist Studies, Critical Social Policy, Community Development Journal, New Humanist, Party Politics, Radical Philosophy, Renewal, Socialist History, Soundings, The Cunningham Amendment and Twentieth Century Communism. Writing as Mike Makin-Waite, he is the author of Communism and Democracy (Lawrence and Wishart, London, 2017).

Biographical details correct as of 21.08.25