Mark Clarke (politician)
Mark Clarke (born June 1977) is a British former Conservative Party parliamentary candidate who was director of the now-defunct Young Britons' Foundation,[1] as well as a chairman of (also now-defunct) Conservative Future,[2] and ex-director of the Road Trip electioneering organisation (disbanded in 2015) that bussed Conservative party activists to marginal seats during the 2015 general election campaign. Clarke was suspended from the party on 24 September 2015, following the suicide of Conservative activist Elliott Johnson who had claimed that Clarke had bullied him.[3]
Mark Clarke
Marketing Consultant and Political Activist
Sarah Clarke
- Golden Dolphin (Young Britons' Foundation, 2015)
A series of accusations subsequently appeared in national newspapers about Clarke's alleged misconduct. In November 2015 he was expelled and banned for life from representing or joining the Conservative Party.[4] His alleged misconduct within the Conservative Party also led to national newspaper coverage about the extent to which senior figures in the party knew about complaints regarding his actions that subsequently led to the resignation of Grant Shapps as a government minister.
Career[edit]
History Storytime Podcast[edit]
Facing issues with conventional employment as a result of public image and perception, Clarke, who himself studied ancient and modern history at Durham, started a children's history podcast behind the veil of his two daughters, Sophie and Ellie (with Clarke credited as "Daddy").[6] Mark Clarke is listed as the only director for the business.[7] History Storytime was launched in 2018,[8] following the sexual harassment case made against him at previous employer Unilever earlier in the year, but the limited company was dissolved on 5 April 2022.[9]
Marketing consultancy[edit]
In the years from his graduation up to 2015, Clarke used his university training to engage in consulting positions related to marketing, a period that included work with Procter and Gamble, Mars, Accenture, and Unilever, and a period of 4 years residence in Switzerland.[5]: 4:45 In 2015, he was reported to be a senior marketing analyst at Unilever,[10] but left the company in March 2018 after claims of sexual harassment were made against him. He was the subject of a formal investigation by Unilever, but resigned before the investigation was concluded.[11]
Early political career[edit]
Clarke has been an active Conservative Party campaigner since at least 1997 where he was seen in John Major's entourage as the former prime minister gave his speech to concede defeat to Tony Blair after a landslide defeat.[12] He would later become the elected chairman of Conservative Future between 2006 and 2008 and he also came to prominence in the Young Britons' Foundation as their director of outreach,[1] an organisation headed by Donal Blaney at the time.
He would also assume the nickname "Tatler Tory" after being tipped as a future Cabinet Minister by Tatler magazine.[13]
Personal life[edit]
He was in a relationship with Conservative MP Justine Greening.[33] In 2015, it was alleged that Clarke had had a long-term affair with India Brummitt, a former Conservative Future executive committee member.[34]