Mark Reckless | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Reckless in 2016 | |
| Leader of the Brexit Party in Wales | |
| In office 15 May 2019 – 19 October 2020 | |
| Leader | Nigel Farage |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Nathan Gill (Reform UK) |
| Member of the Senedd for South Wales East | |
| In office 5 May 2016 – 29 April 2021 | |
| Preceded by | William Graham |
| Succeeded by | Natasha Asghar |
| UKIP Spokesperson for Economics | |
| In office 18 August 2015 – 6 April 2017 | |
| Leader | Nigel Farage Diane James Paul Nuttall |
| Preceded by | Patrick O'Flynn |
| Succeeded by | Patrick O'Flynn |
| Member of Parliament for Rochester and Strood | |
| In office 20 November 2014 – 30 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | himself |
| Succeeded by | Kelly Tolhurst |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 30 September 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Marshall-Andrews (Medway) |
| Succeeded by | himself |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mark John Reckless 6 December 1970 London, England |
| Political party | Reform UK (2019-2020; 2024 - present) |
| Other political affiliations | Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party (2020–2021) Independent (member of the Conservative Group in the Senedd) (2017–2019) UK Independence Party (2014–2017) Conservative (2002–2014) |
| Spouse | Catriona Brown |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford The University of Law Columbia Business School |
| Website | Official website |
Mark John Reckless (born 6 December 1970) is a British lawyer and former politician who served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for South Wales East from 2016 until 2021, having previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and Strood from 2010 to 2015. Initially a member of the Conservative Party, he crossed the floor to join the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in September 2014. He has since changed parties a further four times. He is currently a member of Reform UK.[1]
While a member of the House of Commons, Reckless was noted for his rebelliousness; he cast 56 votes against the whip between 2010 and 2014, making him the 13th most rebellious Conservative Party MP in the period. He led a rebellion of 53 Conservative MPs on the EU budget, which inflicted the first House of Commons defeat on the coalition government. From November 2010, he served as a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee. After crossing the floor, he won re-election as a UKIP MP in a by-election held in November 2014 but lost his seat to the Conservatives at the 2015 general election.
A Eurosceptic, Reckless was elected to the National Assembly for Wales, later known as the Senedd, in 2016. He campaigned to leave the European Union in the 2016 EU membership referendum. He subsequently left UKIP to join the Conservative group in the National Assembly before joining the Brexit Party in 2019 when he was appointed its leader in the National Assembly by Nigel Farage.[2] On 19 October 2020, Reckless joined the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party; the party lost both of its seats in the 2021 Senedd election.[3]
- ^ Molaski, Ruth (10 November 2024). "A day inside the Reform UK machine set to be a political force in Wales whether you like it or not". Wales Online. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ "Assembly members join forces with Farage". 15 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- ^ "Welsh Parliament election 2021". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021.