Mark Harper

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Mark Harper bigraphy, stories - British politician

Mark Harper : biography

26 February 1970 –

Mark James Harper (born 26 February 1970) is a British politician and self-employed accountant (non-practising). He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Forest of Dean and is currently the Minister of State for Immigration.

Notable issues

Characterization of people collecting disability benefits

On 10 September 2010, Harper stated on the BBC Radio 4 program Any Questions? that "There are definitely some people in our country, and everyone in every community knows who they are, who are able to work, and don’t". After the interviewer challenged these words as being "outrageous", Harper repeated the notion, saying, "Everybody knows them, able-bodied people…"

Proposed sale of public forests

In October 2010, the Government introduced the Public Bodies Bill to The House of Lords, which would allow the Secretary of State to sell or lease public forests in England.

Harper defended the proposals, describing them as an "exciting opportunity for community ownership."The Forest and Wye Valley Review, 19 November 2010, page 15 However, they were widely criticised by many residents within his constituency and by politicians with connections to the Forest of Dean, most notably Baroness Jan Royall, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords. She described Harper as ‘fundamentally wrong’ and his views on the subject as ‘utter nonsense’.Forest and Wye Valley Review, 26 November 2010, page 12

Following a public meeting after which Harper had to be rescued by police and a sustained national campaign which included the newly formed local Forest of Dean pressure group Hands off our Forest, the government announced it had abandoned its plans and would remove the forestry clauses from the Public Bodies Bill.

Political career

Harper became the treasurer of the Swindon Conservative Association in 1993, and from 1997 to the new Swindon South Conservative Association, becoming the vice chairman for a year in 1998. He contested the Gloucestershire seat of Forest of Dean at the 2001 General Election but was defeated by the sitting Labour MP Diana Organ by 2,049 votes. Organ retired at the 2005 General Election and Harper gained the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of 2,049, exactly the same number of votes by which he was defeated at the previous election. In the 2010 General election, Harper was re-elected as member for the Forest of Dean with 46.81% of the vote increasing his majority to over 11,000.

Early life and career

Harper was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, he was educated at the Headlands Comprehensive School and Swindon College. He then studied philosophy, politics and economics at Brasenose College, Oxford, where like David Cameron he studied under Professor Vernon Bogdanor.

Parliamentary career

Harper made his maiden speech on 24 May 2005, in which he concentrated on the education needs of his constituents with learning disabilities. In Parliament, he served on the administration select committee from 2005 to 2006.

In December 2005 he was promoted to the front bench by David Cameron as a spokesman on defence and Veterans. On 15 May 2006, he hosted the first Conservative Party Veterans Summit, bringing together organisations from across the country to discuss the issues facing war veterans and established a platform from which to develop Conservative Party policy on the issue.. On 11 April 2007, Cameron appointed Harper Shadow Minister for Forces Families & Welfare. In July 2007, Harper was appointed Shadow Minister for Disabled People in Cameron’s frontbench reshuffle.

Harper was appointed junior minister for Political and Constitutional Reform, in the Cabinet Office in May 2010. He worked with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 which enabled the Alternative Vote referendum and changes to the number and size of constituencies.

On matters of foreign policy Harper is a noted Euro-sceptic and a strong supporter of Israel and is a member of Conservative Friends of Israel.