Mark Dormer
Parliamentary Candidate 2019
In the 2019 General Election, Mark was asked to stand against Rachel Reeves MP in Leeds West. Although the seat was deemed unwinnable, the Party wanted a candidate who was capable of holding their own against a highly experienced, Labour frontbench politician. Mark did just that in robust hustings, first against the Shadow Chancellor and then later against seasoned debater Hilary Benn MP.
Mark relocated to Leeds for the duration of the election and campaigned across the constituency in the cold and wet on 63 occasions and was recognised as one of the hardest working and effective candidates in the region.
He maximised his use of social media to drive engagement with voters. His messaging focused on insightful, fact driven posts on Facebook and Twitter to highlight Labour policy flaws and raise his profile in the constituency. As a result, he successfully reduced the majority of one of Labour’s most senior MP’s by 34%.
Taking a stance against toxic politics
Following the general election, Labour Momentum activists singled out Mark’s opponent, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and targeted her with vicious and highly personal abuse.
In an unexpected response, Mark took the decision to call out the abuse on Twitter and denounce the Momentum activists responsible for creating a poisonous political environment.
Mark’s Tweet was read by over 230,000 people and received over 25,000 ‘Likes’ and comments and was also reported in the local and political press.
Buckinghamshire Unitary Council
In May 2021, Mark was elected to the new Buckinghamshire Unitary Council. Despite having moved to the area just nine months before the local elections, Mark was elected with the 5th highest number of votes in the entire county.
Given his financial and regulatory background, he was appointed to the Audit & Governance Committee, a particularly challenging aspect of governance in view of the recent merger of five different councils into a single Unitary. He was also appointed Deputy Chair of the Children & Education Select Committee and was immediately asked to lead an in-depth report into ‘The Challenges of Recruitment and Retention of Social Workers in Buckinghamshire’ and deliver recommendations and action points to address the findings.
Amersham & Villages Community Board
On election to Buckinghamshire Council, Mark was appointed Chair of the local Community Board. With the amalgamation of five councils into a single Unitary, 16 boards were created to drive localism and deliver on the Conservative Council’s aims and objectives at a grassroots level.
Leaning heavily on social media, the traditional press and short viral videos, Mark has helped to galvanise local volunteers and volunteer groups. This has enabled Amersham & Villages Community Board to deliver 73 local projects in just two years.
Mark speaks regularly at the 14 primary and secondary schools in the board area and has engaged with 32 different local volunteer groups.
Amongst other projects and initiatives, Mark has helped bring a new monthly Artisan Food Market to the area with all the stalls hosted by local Chiltern-based businesses. Defibrillators have been installed across the Community Board area, bollards have been installed by a local school after three near misses and two ‘Dementia Cafes’ have been started to support those suffering with dementia and their carers.
During the pandemic Mark helped to set up a local food bank, supplied by excess produce from local allotments and in summer 2023 the Community Board brought the first ever open air cinema to Amersham with over 500 people, both young and old attending the event. Most recently, Mark has worked with local retailers, local volunteer groups and market operators to take over the organisation of the annual Christmas market, which this year saw vintage fairground rides, a local brass band, a rock choir and 60 art and craft stalls together with food & drink and gift stalls and the fair was hailed as huge success for the area.
Amersham Town Council
Mark is also an Amersham Town Councillor and sits on the Planning Committee and on the Financial & General Purposes Committee. Although in opposition, Mark encourages a positive, but firm approach to engagement with the controlling Liberal Democrat Councillors to ensure the best possible outcome for local residents.
On the campaign trail
Most weekends Mark is found out and about on the campaign trail, knocking on doors and speaking with residents, or hosting and supporting Conservative Councillors on stalls or at events.
Having helped to bring a new monthly Artisan Food market to Amersham Old Town, Mark and the other members of the Community Board regularly host a monthly stall to help drive engagement with residents and this often evolves into a ‘mini-surgery’ to help local people in his ward.
In the press
Mark plays a central role in the fight against the opposition Liberal Democrat MP and Councillors. He appears regularly in the local press in his capacity as a Local Councillor and Chair of the Community Board to highlight Conservative achievements at a local government level.
He also appears regularly on local radio to promote the work of Buckinghamshire Council’s Community Boards and to recruit volunteers to help with local projects and initiatives.
Social media
Mark is active on Facebook and on Twitter and uses both social media outlets to promote local and national Conservative achievements and to hold opposition parties up to the highest scrutiny.
The first to criticise naïve opposition policy decisions and failings, Mark makes a point to ensure his comments are always professional in tone and avoid stirring up political vitriol – his approach is always to ‘play the ball, not the (wo)man.’
Of note, the Local Government Association regularly uses Mark’s social media as a model of good practise and insightful, strong messaging.
Work and career
Mark’s background is in financial services and technology. He has held a number of senior management positions at top tier global investment banks and has served on the board of a number of financial services companies, providing business strategy, regulatory, and trading advice.
He is a Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of TPE, a financial technology company which is transforming institutional access and trading of privately owned global companies.
Throughout his career Mark has championed the advancement and development of new young talent through mentoring programs and 1-to-1 coaching. He has also been heavily involved in graduate recruitment and has worked to ensure that the most talented young people have the opportunity to flourish in their careers, irrespective of background and individual circumstances.
Background
Brought up in a regular working family, Mark attended the local state school and was the first in his family to go to university, where he studied Modern History and Politics.
He was also a Staff-Sergeant in the school Combined Cadet Force – though perhaps better known for his morale boosting speeches in the rain than his particularly dire map-reading skills!
At school he was regularly engaging in friendly jousts with teachers as he ‘flew the blue flag’ and this continued at university with his politics professor Raymond Plant, who now sits as a Labour peer.
Personal life and interests
Mark is married to Natalia and they live with their two cats Mishka and Oscar.
Beyond politics, Mark’s main interest lies in travelling to countries off the beaten track, visiting unconventional places and meeting people from vastly different places and cultures. Amongst other places, in recent years he has travelled to Iran, Burma, Uzbekistan, Ethiopia and Armenia. He has also worked as a volunteer on school building projects in Uganda and Kenya.
An avid cook, Mark owns every imaginable kitchen gadget and almost every cookbook on the market. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm is significantly higher than his cooking ability – with damning advice from his wife “perhaps it’s best to stick to cheese on toast!”
- mark.dormer@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
- 22 Elizabeth Avenue, Amersham Buckinghamshire, HP6 6QB