Mark Wallace (journalist) explained

Mark Wallace
Birth Date:1984 8, df=yes
Birth Place:Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, England
Nationality:British
Education:Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne
Alma Mater:St Chad's College, Durham University
Occupation:Journalist, commentator, political activist
Party:Conservative

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

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

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.

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]

Journalism

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.[27]

In October 2017, he was placed at Number 89 in 'The Top 100 Most Influential People on the Right' by political commentator Iain Dale.[28] In September 2019, he was placed at Number 58 in 'The Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives of 2019', again by Dale.[29]

Quiz contestant

Wallace has appeared as a contestant on several television quizzes. In 2004, he represented Durham University on University Challenge. In 2013, he won The Chase. In 2016, he captained The Beekeepers on Only Connect,[30] reaching the Quarter-Finals.[31]

Notes and References

  1. News: Understanding – and winning – seaside seats Conservative Home. Wallace. Mark. 1 July 2013. Conservative Home. 2017-11-09. en-US.
  2. Web site: Old Novocastrian Association Magazine. Medcalf. Jane. 2016. 2017-11-09.
  3. Web site: Victory for Durham in University Challenge - Durham University. 19 October 2004. www.dur.ac.uk. en. 2017-11-09.
  4. News: Camping is definitely not communist Mark Wallace. Wallace. Mark. 2010-07-14. The Guardian. 2017-11-10. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  5. 1391035900851892237. wallaceme. Among the many contests being announced today, glad to see my mum being re-elected with a big majority.… . 8 May 2021.
  6. News: ID protester stopped and filmed under terror law will have police record for life. Johnston. Philip. 31 January 2006. Daily Telegraph. 2017-11-09. en-GB. 0307-1235.
  7. Web site: 10 Years of Putting the Positive Case for Leaving the EU – Better Off Out. Richards. Simon. 26 April 2016. www.betteroffout.net. 2017-11-09.
  8. News: Council & Management Committee. The Freedom Association. 2017-11-09.
  9. News: How the TaxPayers' Alliance took on the gospel of the big state Mark Wallace. Wallace. Mark. 2014-02-12. The Guardian. 2017-11-09. 0261-3077.
  10. News: What future for MPs' expenses?. 2009-05-18. BBC News. 2017-11-09.
  11. News: Calls to prosecute expenses MPs. 2009-05-15. BBC News. 2017-11-09.
  12. News: Portland Communications boosts Tory credentials with two new hires. Miller. Simon. 22 July 2010. PR Week. 2017-11-09.
  13. Web site: Mark Wallace starts as head of media relations at the Institute of Directors. 29 March 2012. ww.w.gorkana.co.uk. 2017-11-09.
  14. News: We announce the new ConservativeHome editorial team. Paul Goodman is Editor.. Goodman. Paul. 15 April 2013. Conservative Home. 2017-11-09.
  15. Web site: New developments at ConservativeHome, as we build on the success of another record-breaking year . ConservativeHome . ConservativeHome . 11 January 2020.
  16. News: Grilled: Mark Wallace, executive editor, ConservativeHome. Suleman. Khidr. 9 September 2016. 2017-11-09.
  17. News: The computers that crashed. And the campaign that didn't. The story of the Tory stealth operation that outwitted Labour last month. Wallace. Mark. 16 June 2015. Conservative Home. 2017-11-09.
  18. News: Our CCHQ election audit: the rusty machine, part one. Why the operation that succeeded in 2015 failed in 2017.. Wallace. Mark. 5 September 2017. Conservative Home. 2017-11-09.
  19. News: Our CCHQ election audit: the rusty machine, part two. How and why the ground campaign failed.. Wallace. Mark. 6 September 2017. Conservative Home. 2017-11-09. 4 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180104114012/https://www.conservativehome.com/majority_conservatism/2017/09/our-cchq-election-audit-the-rusty-machine-part-two-how-and-why-the-ground-campaign-failed.html. dead.
  20. News: Our CCHQ election audit: the rusty machine, part three: What can be done to fix it?. Wallace. Mark. 7 September 2017. Conservative Home. 2017-11-09.
  21. News: Eurosceptics can't get used to the fact that they won. Wallace. Mark. 2017-09-25. iNews. 2017-11-10.
  22. Web site: Mark Wallace: author page. The Guardian. 2017-11-10.
  23. Web site: Mark Wallace: author page. Financial Times. 2017-11-10.
  24. News: Putin can rely on a new breed of useful idiots. Wallace. Mark. 2015-04-16. The Times. 2017-11-10. 0140-0460.
  25. News: Tories should have faith in their grassroots. Wallace. Mark. . 2016-09-05. 2017-11-10. 0140-0460.
  26. News: Marginalised, chaotic, and flanked by Theresa May – Ukip could be about to die. Wallace. Mark. 2016-10-08. The Telegraph. 2017-11-10. 0307-1235.
  27. Web site: Millns . Rushi . Balloon Debate with Edwina Currie, Katy Bourne, Mark Wallace and Alex Deane . 2024-07-22 . Conservative Women's Organisation . en.
  28. News: The Top 100 Most Influential People On The Right: Iain Dale's 2017 List. Dale. Iain. 2 October 2017. LBC. 2017-11-10.
  29. News: The Top 100 Most Influential People On The Right: Iain Dale's 2017 List. Dale. Iain. 2 September 2019. LBC. 2019-11-24.
  30. Web site: My appearance on 'Only Connect', the UK's most fiendish quiz show. Spero. Josh. 10 October 2016. Financial Times. 2017-11-10.
  31. Web site: Beekeepers v Korfballers, Series 12, Only Connect - BBC Two. BBC. 2017-11-10.

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