20 Facts About Mark Jenkinson

Mark Ian Jenkinson was born on 28 January 1982 and is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament for the abolished seat of Workington from 2019 to the 2024 general election.

Mark Jenkinson was born in Whitehaven, Cumbria, and raised in Workington.

Mark Jenkinson lived on Victoria Road in Workington during his childhood with his parents.

Mark Jenkinson was educated at St Joseph's Catholic High School, Workington and Newton Rigg College, Penrith, where he briefly pursued agricultural studies, and then joined British Steel as an apprentice for a period of months.

Mark Jenkinson was previously a member of the Conservative Party.

Mark Jenkinson was a founding member of UKIP's West Cumbria branch but quit in 2016, citing disagreements about the party's approach to the EU referendum and concerns over internal democracy.

Mark Jenkinson was chairman of Seaton Parish Council but stood down after being elected as MP.

In October 2020, Mark Jenkinson was criticised by Labour MP Jess Phillips after he stated that in his constituency in a "tiny" minority of cases "food parcels are sold or traded for drugs".

In 2021, Mark Jenkinson came out in defence of a controversial proposal to build a new coal mine in the Copeland constituency.

The plan to create Woodhouse Colliery was "called in" for government consideration, and The Guardian reported in March 2021 that Mark Jenkinson was one of a number of Conservative backbench MPs on a potential collision course with the prime minister Boris Johnson when a decision was made to put it on hold.

On 4 February 2023, Mark Jenkinson announced that he had been selected by Conservative Party members for Penrith and Solway, which was considered to be the safer of the two seats.

Mark Jenkinson was elected to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee in March 2020, serving until October 2022.

Mark Jenkinson returned to the committee on 8 November 2022.

Mark Jenkinson move to the new Energy Security and Net Zero Committee.

Mark Jenkinson served as the Vice-Chair of the Conservative backbench Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee; as a Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Upland Farming, a Vice-Chair of the APPG Nuclear and as Treasurer of the APPG Cyprus.

Mark Jenkinson was one of 10 parliamentarians personally named in a Commons Select Committee of Privileges special report on the "Co-ordinated campaign of interference in the work of the Privileges Committee", published 28 June 2023.

Mark Jenkinson maintains that the tweet referenced in the report as evidence, was not about the committee.

In February 2022, Mark Jenkinson was made parliamentary private secretary for DEFRA, and from September 2022 to October 2022 he was an Assistant Government Whip.

Mark Jenkinson was made parliamentary private secretary to the Scotland Office in February 2023.

Mark Jenkinson has expressed his belief that transgender men are not men and transgender women are not women; in a 2022 tweet Mark Jenkinson said "I don't get to call myself a chicken if I cover myself in feathers".