Mark Wallace (journalist) – Wikipedia

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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]

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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. 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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