Mark Menzies

Mark Andrew Menzies^[2] (born 18 May 1971) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fylde in Lancashire since 2010.

He was formerly PPS to Charles Hendry MP, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change before both moved in the 2012 Cabinet Reshuffle. He resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Mark Prisk MP, Minister of State for Housing and Local Government in March 2014.

Early life

Menzies grew up in Ardrossan on the Ayrshire coast, raised by his mother after his Merchant Navy father died a month before he was born.^[3] With his mother working shifts at the local ICI factory to support them, he attended a local primary school before benefiting from the assisted places scheme at a nearby independent secondary. He was educated at Keil School and graduated from the University of Glasgow, where he was President of the Conservative Association, in 1994 with an honours degree in economic and social history. Menzies' professional career was spent in the retail sector. He joined Marks & Spencer as a graduate trainee in 1994 and has since worked in marketing for two large UK supermarkets. In 2007, he was the recipient of the IGD/Unilever Social Innovation Marketing award.^[4]

Menzies stood as a Conservative candidate for the safe Labour seat of Glasgow Govan in the 2001 general election, where he came fourth. In 2005 he stood in Selby in Yorkshire, a Labour marginal, and came in second.

In 2006 he was added to David Cameron's "A-List" and was selected for Fylde in November 2008;^[5] he was elected at the 2010 general election, when he gained 22,826 votes, 52.2% of the total.

Parliamentary career

Having been elected in the summer of 2010, Menzies made his maiden speech on 21 June 2010.^[6] In November 2010, Menzies was one of only seven newly elected MPs to be chosen as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to a Minister of the Government.^[7]

Menzies has championed a number of issues, most notably in relation to his Fylde constituency. In the autumn of 2011 he successfully called upon the Government to establish an Enterprize Zone at Warton which he believes will attract international investment and mitigate the compulsory redundancies announced at BAE.^[8] Similarly, he has also praised BAE Warton as being a centre of excellence in nine different practice areas and acknowledges the contribution that the company makes to the local economy.^[9]

In October and November 2011, reports emerged of dangerous cockling practices in the Ribble Estuary.^[10] Menzies raised Governmental awareness of this issue and called for urgent action in order to avoid a repeat of the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster.^[11] He succeeded in implementing a temporary ban pending further emergency by-laws.

Menzies has also campaigned for the liberalisation of Sunday Trading legislation. He brought forward a Bill which sought to allow local authorities to vary Sunday trading restrictions in their jurisdiction contemporaneously to large national events.^[12] More specifically, he argued that the retail sector should be able to take advantage of any extra revenues generated by the Olympics in London 2012.

Since becoming an MP Menzies has made appearances at various LGBTory events held in Parliament but has never spoken openly about his sexuality. There is no mention of family life or personal relationships on his website, unlike many other MPs.^[13]

In line with Menzies' interest in defence, he is a member of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme.

Menzies was a member of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee for a time in 2010 before his appointment as a PPS.^[3] His website states that his main political priorities include "UK energy security, changing the planning system to empower local communities and limit inappropriate development and ensuring a vibrant future for the defence industry within the UK". He lives in St Annes.

Resignation

At the end of March 2014 he resigned as PPS, following tabloid newspaper stories about his private life.^[14] In a statement, he said: "A number of these allegations are not true and I look forward to setting the record straight in due course."^[3][13][15]

References

External links

• his website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou