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Biography
Mark
Lancaster has had something of
an explosive career. He has
worked in his family’s firework
business, served as a bomb
disposal officer in the
army, and in 2005 was the first
pyrotechnician to have been
elected to
the House of Commons.
Mark’s
primary passion is his constituency, Milton Keynes North, to which he
was returned with an 8,961 majority
in May 2010. The 40-year-old lives
in the town of Olney, which sits in
the rural heart of the constituency,
having grown up in nearby
Kimbolton. He read his first degree
at Buckingham University and went
on to complete an MBA at Exeter
University, before working in the
family firework manufacturing
company based in Kimbolton –
the last such manufacturer in the
country.
Mark Lancasters
military career spans 23 years,
beginning when he served as an
officer in the Queens Gurkha
Engineers in Hong Kong on a gap
year commission.
Still serving as a bomb disposal
officer in the Territorial Army, he
spent the 2006 summer recess on
active service alongside our troops in
Afghanistan. This was the third time
that Mark volunteered for active
service since 2000, having previous
served as part of the NATO
peacekeeping force in both
Kosovo and Bosnia.
Mark Lancasters
is a keen sportsman, supporting his
local team, MK Dons, and has
opened the batting for the House of
Commons Cricket team. As a
hobby, Mark
collects and restores classic
British motorcycles.
Campaigns
In seven
years as an MP Mark Lancaster
has spearheaded numerous
campaigns to great
success. His most notable was
pushing for infrastructure before
expansion – I before E – to ensure
that Milton Keynes has the facilities
it needs before housing growth.
He
has been involved in raising
awareness of safety in
multi-occupancy
houses after two tragic deaths in
Fishermead in September 2010.
He
recently scored a result when the
Government admitted it would
reconsider its school admissions
processes after he called an
adjournment debate on the matter
in December 2010, following the
chaos
in Milton Keynes.
For
a number of years, Mark Lancaster
has been campaigning for a ban
on the drug khat, which is a
substance traditionally chewed by
the Somali community.
He has approached the Home
Secretary and is awaiting the
results of the
Drugs Advisory Council which is
due in October. The campaign is
the
result of several complaints from
his constituents about the damaging
social and physical effects of the
drug.
Fighting
for the right of service men and
women, he has been pressing the
Government to allow the armed
forces to be able to play the
National
Lottery abroad. He cites one of his
greatest victories as retaining
funding for the TA when the
previous Government threatened
to cut it.
Last year
Mark introduced a Bill to
Parliament that has allowed the
Royal Mint to
produce a special coin to mark the
2012 Olympic Games.
Meanwhile,
Mark and his team fight countless
individual battles on a daily basis;
the office has completed more
than 8,000 pieces of casework
since 2005.
Parliamentary roles
Mark is currently Parliamentary
Private Secretary to the
Secretary of State for International
Development, Andrew Mitchell.
In
opposition he served as a whip
(2006) and Shadow Minister for
International Development
(2007-10). Mark has also served
on the Office
of the Deputy Prime Minister
Select Committee (2005), Defence
Committee
(2006) International Development
Select Committee (2009-10).
He is
currently on the committee
scrutinising the Armed Forces Bill.
He
is also a member of the All Party
Nepal, Hong Kong, China, USA,
University, Football, Cricket,
United Nations and Beer groups,
as well
as acting as an (unpaid)
parliamentary advisor to the Royal
Society of Chemistry
Useful links
Mark’s maiden speech:
Mark’s registered interests: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/100927/lancaster_mark.htm
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