| Mark Hunter MP | |
|---|---|
| Liberal Democrat Deputy Chief Whip | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 11 May 2010 |
|
| Leader | Nick Clegg |
| Member of Parliament for Cheadle |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 14 July 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Patsy Calton |
| Majority | 3,272 (6.2%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 July 1957 Audenshaw, Lancashire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Lesley |
| Relations | Parents: Arthur Brian Hunter and Betty Elizabeth Mary Hunter (nee Turner) |
| Children | Robert (M) and Francesca (F) |
| Residence | Bramhall |
| Website | www.markhunter.org.uk |
Mark James Hunter (born 25 July 1957) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is the current Member of Parliament (MP) for Cheadle.[1]
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Mark Hunter was educated at Audenshaw Grammar School for Boys and worked as a marketing executive for the Guardian Media Group until 2002.[2]
Mark Hunter ran as the Liberal candidate in Ashton under Lyne in the 1987 general election, and as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Stockport in the 2001 general election. He was first elected to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council in May 1996 for a ward in Marple, and served as Chair of Education before replacing Patsy Calton as Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Regeneration in June 2001 when she stood down after becoming the local MP. In May 2002 he became Leader of the Council.
As Leader, Mark Hunter served on the North West Regional Authority. He was also elected to the Liberal Democrat executive on the Local Government Association.
When Patsy Calton died from cancer shortly after the 2005 general election, Mark Hunter was selected to follow her. Stephen Day who was MP prior to 2001 was selected as the Conservative Party candidate. In a by-election which saw accusations of 'dirty tricks' from all parties but was fairly low-profile (coming so soon after the general election), he managed to slightly increase the Liberal Democrat percentage of the vote on a lower turnout.
Mark Hunter is Liberal Democrat Deputy Chief Whip and Assistant Government Whip in the Coalition Government (2010-).He has been accused by members of his consituency of breaking some of the pre-election promises in exchange for this minor promotion.
From the election of Nick Clegg as leader of the Liberal Democrats in December 2007 to the 2010 General Election, Mark Hunter served as Clegg's Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) and the party's Transport Spokesman in the Commons.
Prior to this, Hunter had been a member of the Shadow Foreign Affairs team in 2007, Shadow Home Affairs team in 2006 and Shadow OPDM team in 2005.[3]
Hunter was a member of the Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Committee which replaced the Trade and Industry Select Committee (of which he was also a member) in November 2007. By virtue of sitting on BERR committee, Hunter was also a member of the Quadripartite Committee on Strategic Export Controls.
In 2009 he tabled an early day motion to save payments by cheque which are due to be phased out.[4]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Patsy Calton |
Member of Parliament for Cheadle 2005–present |
Incumbent |