Mark Wallace (journalist)

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Mark Wallace
Born (1984-08-20) 20 August 1984 (age 39)
Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, England
NationalityBritish
EducationRoyal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne
Alma materSt Chad's College, Durham University
Occupation(s)Journalist, commentator, political activist
Political partyConservative

Mark Edwin Wallace (born 20 August 1984) is a British journalist, newspaper columnist and political activist. He is Chief Executive of the website ConservativeHome, and is a former Campaign Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance.

Early life[edit]

Wallace grew up in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside,[1] and was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne.[2] He studied Archaeology at St Chad's College, Durham University.[3] After graduating, he worked on archaeological excavations at Bamburgh Castle.[4] His mother Judith Wallace is a Conservative Party councillor on North Tyneside Council.[5]

Political campaigning[edit]

In 2005, Wallace was appointed Campaign Manager of The Freedom Association (TFA), a libertarian and Eurosceptic pressure group. In the autumn of the same year he was stopped and filmed by Sussex Police under counter-terrorism powers while protesting against the proposed introduction of Identity Cards outside the Labour Party conference.[6]

Wallace co-founded Better Off Out, a cross-party campaign calling for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, in April 2006.[7] He continues to sit on the Association's Council and Management Committee.[8]

In 2007, he became Campaign Director of low-tax pressure group the TaxPayers' Alliance.[9] His campaigns at the TaxPayers' Alliance included pressing for transparency on MPs' expenses,[10] and for MPs to be punished for any fraudulent abuse of the system.[11] The same year he featured in the Channel 4 political documentary, Make Me a Tory.[citation needed]

In July 2010, Wallace was recruited by Portland Communications, a PR and public affairs agency,[12] before becoming Head of Media Relations at the Institute of Directors in March 2012.[13][better source needed]

Journalism[edit]

In April 2013, the right wing political website ConservativeHome announced that Wallace would join its editorial team the following month as Executive Editor,[14] following the departure of its founder, Tim Montgomerie. In January 2020 it was announced that he is becoming the website's Chief Executive.[15]

Wallace has stated that his particular interest is in "the way political machines are evolving in the age of low party memberships and digital innovation",[16] and has published investigations into the success of the Conservative Party's campaign in the 2015 general election,[17] and the failure of the Party's subsequent campaign in the 2017 general election.[18][19][20]

Beyond ConservativeHome, Wallace is a regular commentator in the media. He writes a fortnightly column on Brexit for the i paper,[21] and has also written on politics for The Guardian,[22] The Observer, the Financial Times,[23] The Times[24][25] and The Daily Telegraph.[26] Wallace is also a regular paper reviewer for Sky News.[citation needed]

In October 2017, he was placed at Number 89 in 'The Top 100 Most Influential People on the Right' by political commentator Iain Dale.[27] In September 2019, he was placed at Number 58 in 'The Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives of 2019', again by Dale.[28]

Quiz contestant[edit]

Wallace has appeared as a contestant on several television quizzes. In 2004, he represented Durham University on University Challenge.[3] In 2013, he won The Chase.[citation needed] In 2016, he captained The Beekeepers on Only Connect,[29] reaching the Quarter-Finals.[30]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wallace, Mark (1 July 2013). "Understanding – and winning – seaside seats | Conservative Home". Conservative Home. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  2. ^ Medcalf, Jane (2016). "Old Novocastrian Association Magazine" (PDF). Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Victory for Durham in University Challenge - Durham University". www.dur.ac.uk. 19 October 2004. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  4. ^ Wallace, Mark (14 July 2010). "Camping is definitely not communist | Mark Wallace". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  5. ^ @wallaceme (8 May 2021). "Among the many contests being announced today, glad to see my mum being re-elected with a big majority.…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Johnston, Philip (31 January 2006). "ID protester stopped and filmed under terror law will have police record for life". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  7. ^ Richards, Simon (26 April 2016). "10 Years of Putting the Positive Case for Leaving the EU – Better Off Out". www.betteroffout.net. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Council & Management Committee". The Freedom Association. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  9. ^ Wallace, Mark (12 February 2014). "How the TaxPayers' Alliance took on the gospel of the big state | Mark Wallace". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  10. ^ "What future for MPs' expenses?". BBC News. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Calls to prosecute expenses MPs". BBC News. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  12. ^ Miller, Simon (22 July 2010). "Portland Communications boosts Tory credentials with two new hires". PR Week. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  13. ^ "Mark Wallace starts as head of media relations at the Institute of Directors". ww.w.gorkana.co.uk. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  14. ^ Goodman, Paul (15 April 2013). "We announce the new ConservativeHome editorial team. Paul Goodman is Editor". Conservative Home. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  15. ^ "New developments at ConservativeHome, as we build on the success of another record-breaking year". ConservativeHome. ConservativeHome. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  16. ^ Suleman, Khidr (9 September 2016). "Grilled: Mark Wallace, executive editor, ConservativeHome". Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  17. ^ Wallace, Mark (16 June 2015). "The computers that crashed. And the campaign that didn't. The story of the Tory stealth operation that outwitted Labour last month". Conservative Home. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  18. ^ Wallace, Mark (5 September 2017). "Our CCHQ election audit: the rusty machine, part one. Why the operation that succeeded in 2015 failed in 2017". Conservative Home. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  19. ^ Wallace, Mark (6 September 2017). "Our CCHQ election audit: the rusty machine, part two. How and why the ground campaign failed". Conservative Home. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  20. ^ Wallace, Mark (7 September 2017). "Our CCHQ election audit: the rusty machine, part three: What can be done to fix it?". Conservative Home. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  21. ^ Wallace, Mark (25 September 2017). "Eurosceptics can't get used to the fact that they won". iNews. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  22. ^ "Mark Wallace: author page". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  23. ^ "Mark Wallace: author page". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  24. ^ Wallace, Mark (16 April 2015). "Putin can rely on a new breed of useful idiots". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  25. ^ Wallace, Mark (5 September 2016). "Tories should have faith in their grassroots". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  26. ^ Wallace, Mark (8 October 2016). "Marginalised, chaotic, and flanked by Theresa May – Ukip could be about to die". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  27. ^ Dale, Iain (2 October 2017). "The Top 100 Most Influential People On The Right: Iain Dale's 2017 List". LBC. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  28. ^ Dale, Iain (2 September 2019). "The Top 100 Most Influential People On The Right: Iain Dale's 2017 List". LBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  29. ^ Spero, Josh (10 October 2016). "My appearance on 'Only Connect', the UK's most fiendish quiz show". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  30. ^ "Beekeepers v Korfballers, Series 12, Only Connect - BBC Two". BBC. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
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