Mark was born and raised in Beccles, where he attended local schools.

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A student at Westminster College, Oxford, where he gained a degree in Theology and was elected President of the Student Union. On returning to Suffolk, Mark was elected to Beccles Town Council in 1991, served as Deputy Mayor in the first term and later, as Town Mayor.

He has worked for more than 27 years for the Conservative Party as a Constituency Agent. In 1998, Mark was elected to Waveney District Council and served as a District Councillor for 21 years. He was Leader of the Council for nine years, longer than anyone else in the Council’s history. Mark also served as Chairman of the Council for a year and was part of the project which created the new East Suffolk Council, which was established in April 2019.

In 2005, elected as a Suffolk County Councillor for Beccles. Over the last 15 years, Mark has been Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee and from 2011-2015 was Leader of Suffolk County Council.

In September 2020 was ordained into the Church of England and serves as part of the Ministry Team in Beccles.

He remains passionate about his work as a Councillor and for the Beccles Division, which is where he lives and has his roots.