Mark is married to Tracy and they live in the village of Grandborough, close to Rugby. He grew up in Binley Woods and Shilton with five brothers, attending Lawrence Sheriff School in Rugby and later Reading University where he obtained a degree in Estate Management. Mark is a retired Old Laurentian Rugby Player and tries to watch England at Twickenham whenever he can.
Mark and Tracy have four children, two girls and two boys. He started his own business, with his brother Mike, in 1982 supplying a range of products to the catering trade. The business occupied four sets of premises in the town and grew to employ 30 staff based in Rugby. In mid-2008 the business was acquired by a FTSE100 company.
Mark was selected as the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate in Nuneaton for the 2005 General Election and slashed Labour's majority from 7,500 to 2,200 (a swing of 6.2% to the Conservatives). He was then selected for the newly formed Rugby constituency seat in 2007 and went on to secure a victory at the polls with a majority of exactly 6,000 votes at the General Election in 2010. Mark was re-elected to serve the people of his home town in 2015 with an increased majority of 10,345. In 2017 Mark was re-elected as Member of Parliament for Rugby and Bulkington with over 50% of the vote.
During his time as Rugby's MP Mark has always stood up for the local community and has helped thousands of local residents. During his first term of office Mark was a Member of the Department for Communities & Local Government Select Committee and in 2014 was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, in the Ministry of Defence.
Following the 2015 General Election Mark remained as PPS to the Minister in their new role as Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise. After the European Union Referendum and the election of the Rt. Hon. Theresa May MP as Prime Minister, Mark was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Rt. Hon. Damian Green MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
After the 2017 General Election, Mark has been elected to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee which scrutinises the work of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Mark was also elected by his Conservative colleagues to the 1922 Executive Committee, a a prestigious role within the Parliamentary Conservative Party.
Mark is also a member of the All Party Groups on Manufacturing, Micro-Businesses, Packaging, Small Business, Cycling, Speedway and Rugby Union and founded the All Party Group for Vaping and the All Party Parliamentary Group for District Councils.
Locally, Mark is the President of the Rugby Branch of Parkinson's UK and also works closely with a number of other local charities to raise awareness of their good work. He has served as a Panel Member for the Livia Awards for Professionalism and Service to Justice, a charity founded by two Rugby residents which recognises the work of Police Officers investigating Road Traffic Incidents, since 2012 and is also a great supporter of Haemochromatosis UK, which raises awareness of those who have Iron Overload.
Mark is passionate about the game of rugby and has done a great deal to ensure that the town receives the recognition it deserves as the birthplace of the game. He also played a key role in the town’s preparations for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and helped to organise local celebrations and events as well as helping to promote the town as a tourist destination for rugby fans from across the world.
To learn more about Mark and his work across Rugby and Bulkington.
