[3] Michie worked as a maintenance electrician and laboratory technician until he was made redundant in 1981 and was then unemployed until he entered parliament in 1983.
[4][3] From 1974 until 1986, the duration of its existence, he also served on South Yorkshire County Council, chairing its area planning committee from 1974 until 1981.
[4] In her obituary of Michie, Julia Langdon noted that he was "among an energetic group of young Labour activists who emerged in Sheffield in the 1970s" when the area was part of what was labeled “The People's Republic of South Yorkshire.” Originally intended as a criticism of the radical politics pursued by Labour in the region, it came to be embraced by Michie and others.
Elected the same day as Michie was future Labour cabinet member David Blunkett.
[5][4] According to the obituary of Michie in The Yorkshire Post, opponents in the Conservatives called him "Labour's most Left-wing politician" during his time as an MP.