Sir Mark Hendrick is the Labour and Co-operative MP for Preston, having first been elected to parliament in a by-election on 23 November 2000.

In the 2024 general election, Hendrick won 14,006 votes, representing 35.0% of the vote. The Independent candidate, Michael Lavalette received 8,715 votes (21.8%) and Reform’s James Elliot received 5,738 (14.3%). Hendrick was duly elected with a majority of 5,291 votes.

The Preston constituency covers the city in central Lancashire. It is considered a safe Labour seat, having been held by the party continuously since 1945.

Hendrick’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Preston was the late Audrey Wise, who represented the seat from 1987 to 2000. Her death in 2000 triggered the by-election that Hendrick successfully contested.

Hendrick was knighted in the 2018 New Year Honours for parliamentary and political service.

Political Career

Hendrick served as an opposition assistant whip from November 2010 to March 2013.

He was previously parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Margaret Beckett as environment secretary. A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs.

In June 2022, Hendrick introduced the Co-operatives, Mutuals and Friendly Societies Bill. The proposed legislation sought to allow co-operative and mutual societies to legally protect their assets for the long term by creating a statutory “asset lock”. It aimed to ensure the value built up by these member-owned organisations could not be demutualised and sold off for private gain. The government announced it would back the bill in November 2022 and it received royal assent in June as the Co-operatives, Mutuals and Friendly Societies Act.

The International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill, introduced by Hendrick in June 2012, sought to enshrine in law the UK’s commitment to spending 0.7% of its gross national income on official development assistance. The bill failed – but the policy was later passed into law through another private members’ bill in 2015.

Hendrick has extensive experience serving on House of Commons select committees. He was a member of the House of Commons energy security and net zero committee from June 2023 to May 2024, the international trade committee from March 2020 to April 2023, the committees on arms export controls from July 2020 to February 2021, the international trade committee from July 2018 to November 2019, the foreign affairs committee from June 2012 to May 2017, the international development committee from January 2009 to May 2010, and the European scrutiny committee from January 2001 to June 2004.

Hendrick is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for China, Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Thailand and Vietnam.

Hendrick delivered his maiden speech on 11 December 2000. In it, he said: “Throughout history, cultural divergences and differences have provided Europe with a richness of culture unrivalled in the world. However, they have also led to some of the bitterest conflicts known to man…

“Governments are now well aware that collective initiatives are far more effective than individual ones. It was on the basis of that belief that the European Community was founded. Although many at first doubted the ideas behind the European Union, now, almost 40 years after its creation, there can be little doubt that it has been an overwhelming success.”

He added: “A Tory recipe for the isolation of Britain in an era of globalisation is folly. It is unnecessary because the European Union does not pose a threat on health, education, defence, welfare or tax. Indeed, the EU’s involvement in all those matters has been of great benefit to Britain.

“The myth is still being peddled that an anonymous bureaucracy in Brussels takes decisions on European legislation, not the elected representatives of national member governments and directly elected European parliamentarians…

“As someone who believes that the power of good will conquer evil, I believe that in this new century, Europe and the world generally will have won another battle against evil.”

Before becoming an MP, Hendrick was the member of the European parliament (MEP) for Lancashire Central from 1994 to 1999.

Upon his selection for the 2000 Preston by-election, it was reported that many local Labour members had wanted the daughter of former MP and leftwinger Audrey Wise, Valerie, to be the candidate. Hendrick denied being a leadership pawn, saying: “I have my own views.”

Sir Mark served as a Labour councillor on Salford City Council from 1987 to 1994.

Political views

In an October 2021 article for The House magazine’s Black History Month hub, Hendrick traced “the rise, fall and rise of racism in the UK.”

He argued that the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016 had legitimised “offensive language that was previously taboo, resulting in an open xenophobic and racist discourse that this country had never previously seen”.

He added: “It remains to be seen whether the current decade will see a society riddled with division and conflict brought on by prejudice and misunderstanding; or whether the government will take action to tackle racism and legislate against social media platforms to ensure that hatred does not become more widespread, so that more people don’t lose their lives to the hatred that is being perpetuated.”

In a June 2020 article for LabourList, written in response to the Black Lives Matter protests, Sir Mark Hendrick argued that tackling structural racism required a “solid stance and firm action from our own government”, not just symbolic gestures.

He wrote: “There is a need to strongly challenge the ingrained racism of police, particularly in the US, following the killing of George Floyd and thousands of other American Black people over the years…

“I am a mixed-race Black MP born in the late 1950s in the UK, prior to any race relations legislation, into a society beset with white privilege. Over the last 60+ years, things have improved slowly in the way many Black people are treated, but dehumanising people of colour still takes place far too often today.”

He added: “Racism has bedevilled our societies through the generations, but the economic, social and health inequalities highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic have exposed racism in a way humanity has never seen it before, principally through modern media.”

Leadership elections and loyalty

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Hendrick was one of 117 Labour MPs who nominated Lucy Powell for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Powell, the former leader of the House of Commons, was seen as a candidate representing the party’s “soft left”; she was support by leading soft left figures including Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham. She secured 117 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), above the 80 required, and went on to win the election – defeating Bridget Phillipson with 54.3% of the vote.

Labour leadership 2020: Hendrick was one of 31 Labour MPs who nominated Lisa Nandy for the party’s leadership in early 2020. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn following the party’s defeat in the 2019 general election, which resulted in Labour’s fewest seats in the House of Commons since 1935.

Nandy, the MP for Wigan, argued that the party needed a “bridge” to reconnect with traditional working-class voters in northern England. She finished third in the contest with 16.2% of the vote.

Labour leadership 2015: Hendrick was one of 41 Labour MPs who nominated Liz Kendall for the party’s leadership in June 2015. The election followed the resignation of Ed Miliband after the party’s defeat in the 2015 general election. It was the first contest held under the “one member, one vote” system, which replaced the previous electoral college.

Kendall, the shadow minister for care and older people, was viewed as the “Blairite” candidate in the race. She secured 41 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), exceeding the 35 required to reach the final ballot. She ultimately finished fourth in the contest with 4.5% of the vote.

In March 2016, Hendrick was labelled as “neutral but not hostile” by the Corbyn leadership in a leaked list which categorised Labour MPs by their perceived loyalty.

Labour leadership 2010: Hendrick was one of 81 Labour MPs who nominated David Miliband for the party’s leadership in May 2010. The election followed the resignation of Gordon Brown, who stepped down as prime minister and Labour leader after the 2010 general election.

Miliband, the former foreign secretary, was seen as closely aligned with the New Labour project – a Blairite figure. He secured 81 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 33 required to reach the final ballot, but was narrowly defeated by his brother, Ed Miliband, in the final round by 50.7% to 49.3%.

Factional identity and party tradition

Usdaw: Hendrick is a member of the Usdaw Union Parliamentary Group – a group of MPs who are members of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) and work generally to represent the union’s interests within parliament.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Hendrick supported the Remain campaign in the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU), and therefore disagreed with a majority of his constituents, 55.7% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Hendrick voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Hendrick voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

In March 2025, Hendrick wrote to Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, to raise his concerns about proposed cuts to welfare benefits.

He said: “I have been contacted by many concerned constituents in Preston regarding the proposed welfare cuts, particularly the impact this will have on disability benefits like personal independence payment (PIP).

“I believe that people with disabilities already face daily barriers, from inaccessible services to rising costs. I understand that many claimants use PIP as a lifeline to fund vital equipment and support their daily living needs, including the cost of energy bills to charge necessary equipment such as specialist beds and wheelchairs etc.”

He added: “I am particularly concerned that these changes would negatively impact nearly ten thousand PIP recipients in Preston, accounting for over 10% of the adult population.”

https://x.com/MarkHendrick_/status/1902007197627769221

Assisted dying

Hendrick voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025

Social values and conscience issues

Same-sex marriage (2013): In February 2013, Hendrick voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill at its second reading. The landmark piece of legislation, which received its second reading by 400 votes to 175, legalised marriage for same-sex couples in England and Wales.

Foreign policy and security

Syria airstrikes (2015): Hendrick voted against a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Syria airstrikes (2013): Hendrick voted against the government’s motion on the principle of military intervention in Syria in August 2013. The government motion was defeated by 285 votes to 272, a move which effectively ruled out UK participation in any US-led military strikes.

Iraq War authorisation vote (2003): In March 2003, Hendrick voted in favour of the government motion authorising military action against Iraq. The vote, one of the most contentious in recent parliamentary history, gave the prime minister, Tony Blair, the authority to join the US-led invasion.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition vote (2014): In October 2014, Hendrick voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state. The motion, passed by 274 votes to 12, called on the government to “recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution”.

Before Politics

Born Mark Phillip Hendrick in Salford, Lancashire on 2 November 1958, he is of Anglo-Somali descent. His father worked in the timber industry.

He attended Salford Grammar School and Buile Hill High School. He studied electrical and electronic engineering at Liverpool Polytechnic (now Liverpool John Moores University) and later gained a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Manchester. He also holds a certificate in education teaching qualification from Manchester and is a chartered engineer.

He worked as a student engineer for the Ministry of Defence in 1979 and later as an engineer for the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) at Daresbury Laboratory for six years. From 1990 to 1994, he worked as a lecturer in digital electronics and software design at Stockport College.

Trivia

In December 2002, Hendrick successfully campaigned for free public access to the National Football Museum when it was based in Preston.