Mark Prisk
Official portrait, 2017
Minister of State for Housing and Local Government
In office
4 September 2012 – 7 October 2013
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byGrant Shapps
Succeeded byKris Hopkins
Minister of State for Business and Enterprise
In office
13 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byPat McFadden
Succeeded byMichael Fallon
Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills[lower-alpha 1]
In office
10 May 2005 – 6 May 2010
LeaderDavid Cameron
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byIan Lucas
Shadow Paymaster General
In office
1 June 2003 – 1 June 2004
LeaderMichael Howard
Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office
1 June 2002 – 1 June 2003
Serving with Stephen O'Brien
LeaderIain Duncan Smith
Preceded byDavid Lidington
Succeeded byAndrew Tyrie
Member of Parliament
for Hertford and Stortford
In office
7 June 2001 – 6 November 2019
Preceded byBowen Wells
Succeeded byJulie Marson
Personal details
Born (1962-06-12) 12 June 1962
Redruth, Cornwall, England
Political partyConservative
SpouseLesley Titcomb
Alma materTruro School,[1] University of Reading
Websitewww.markprisk.com

Michael Mark Prisk (born 12 June 1962) is a British politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertford and Stortford from 2001 until 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Minister of State for Business and Enterprise from 2010 to 2012 and Minister of State for Housing and Local Government from 2012 to 2013.

Early life

Prisk was born at Redruth, Cornwall and whilst living at Camborne was educated at Truro School in 1973–80. He went on to study Land Management at the University of Reading, gaining a BSc degree. From 1983 to 1985, he was Chairman of the Youth Section of Peace through NATO. He was vice-chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students in 1982–83.

After graduation, Prisk worked in property and economic development and rose to become director of a £3 million practice. From 1983 to 1985, he worked as a graduate surveyor for Knight Frank, then as development surveyor for Derrick Wade & Waters where he became manager of the London office from 1985 to 1989. He was a marketing director from 1989 to 1991, then principal of the Mark Prisk Connection from 1991 to 1997. From 1997 to 2001, he was company owner of MP2.

Parliamentary career

Prisk was Chairman of Cornwall Young Conservatives and after unsuccessfully contesting Newham North West in 1992 and Wansdyke in 1997, he was finally elected as the Conservative MP for the constituency of Hertford and Stortford in 2001. He was promoted from the backbenches to the Opposition frontbench as Shadow Financial Secretary, Shadow Minister for Economic Affairs, an opposition whip and Shadow Minister for Business and Enterprise.[2] He is author of several pamphlets on urban design.

On 26 July 2007, David Cameron appointed Prisk as Shadow Minister for Cornwall, although there was no formal government post for him to shadow. The party said the move was intended to help place the county's concerns "at the heart of Conservative thinking". Cameron said he endorsed the appointment and it would ensure the voice of Cornwall was heard.[3] Liberal Democrat Matthew Taylor claimed the appointment was a bid to get around the rule which requires MPs to limit the local cases they take up to their own constituencies.[4] Prisk defended his role in open letter to the Falmouth Packet, noting "as a born and bred Cornishman" his role was to listen to the concerns of people in Cornwall, feed these back to the Shadow Cabinet and make sure Conservative policies properly reflected the needs of Cornwall.[5]

Prisk was appointed as Minister of State for Business and Enterprise in the Cameron–Clegg coalition, until he was shifted to become Minister of State for Housing and Local Government on 5 September 2012.[6] In this role, he was responsible for creating a "Future High Street Forum" to support struggling High Street retailers, but was asked to step down from the frontbench in an October 2013 reshuffle.[7][8]

Prisk campaigned to remain in the European Union in the lead-up to the 2016 referendum on Britain's membership and his constituency narrowly voted to remain by 50.76% to 49.24%.[9][10] However, after the referendum result, he supported the Theresa May's plan for implementation of Britain's withdrawal.[11]

On 9 September 2019, Prisk wrote to the chairman of his local Conservative Association to declare he would not be standing at the next general election.[12]

During November 2022, Prisk announced his position as president of the Conservative Mental Health Group (CMHG). Previous to this role Prisk had supported mental health charities, including the Samaritans and Mind.[13]

Personal life

Prisk married Lesley Titcomb, who became CEO at The Pensions Regulator, in April 1989 in Oxfordshire.[14]

Notes

  1. ↑ Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (2005–09)

References

  1. ↑ "Mark Prisk". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  2. ↑ People - Mark Prisk Archived 9 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Conservative Party website
  3. ↑ Mark Prisk appointed Shadow Minister for Cornwall. 24 July 2007. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2016 – via YouTube.
  4. ↑ "'Fictional Minister' Prompts Row". BBC News. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  5. ↑ Mid Devon Star 28 November 2007
  6. ↑ Kelly, Liam (5 September 2012). "Mark Prisk replaces Grant Shapps as housing minister – what should his priorities be?". Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Neville, Simon (8 October 2013). "Protests as PM sacks Mark Prisk, Minister for High Streets". Independent. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Heaven, Will (7 October 2013). "MPs' reshuffle: as it happened". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013.
  9. ↑ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Hertford and Stortford Election Results". Democratic Dashboard.
  11. ↑ "Brexit".
  12. ↑ Prisk, Mark (9 September 2019). "Today I have announced that I will not be standing at the next general election. Read my full statement herepic.twitter.com/OgTkw7XLlj". @PriskMark. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  13. ↑ "Mental health role for former Bishop's Stortford MP". Bishop's Stortford Independent. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "New housing minister Mark Prisk is surveyor..." Estate Agent Today. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
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