Mark Pritchard is the Conservative MP for The Wrekin, having first been elected to parliament at the 2005 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Pritchard received 16,320 votes, representing 32.6% of the vote share. The Labour candidate, Roh Yakobi, received 15,437 votes (30.9%), while the Reform UK candidate, Richard Leppington, secured 9,920 votes (19.8%). Pritchard was duly re-elected with a narrow majority of 883 votes.

The Wrekin constituency is located in eastern Shropshire. It is named after the prominent Wrekin hill. The seat includes the market towns of Wellington and Shifnal, alongside villages such as Albrighton. Several defence establishments, including RAF Cosford and MOD Donnington, are located within the constituency.

Historically, The Wrekin was a marginal seat, changing hands between Labour and the Conservatives frequently in the decades after World War Two. Since Pritchard gained the seat for the Conservatives in 2005, it has become safer Tory territory, although his majority was significantly reduced in 2024.

Political Career

Pritchard is a longstanding member of the panel of chairs (since December 2012). The panel of chairs is made up of MPs chosen by the House of Commons speaker, typically at the beginning of every parliament, to chair public bill committees and other commons general committees. In this capacity, Pritchard also chairs debates in Westminster Hall and may also act as temporary chair during a committee of the whole House.

In June 2022, Pritchard publicly declared their loyalty to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, ahead of a Conservative “no-confidence” in his leadership. The vote was triggered by discontent within the parliamentary party following the “partygate” scandal and the publication of the Sue Gray report. While the prime minister ultimately won the vote, the scale of the rebellion against him, with 148 of his own MPs voting to remove him, severely weakened his authority and presaged his resignation the following month.

In a post to social media at the time, Pritchard stated: “Boris Johnson will win vote of no confidence later today. Inevitable discussion after result about margin of his win.

“A win is a win in politics. The party must then move on, get behind the PM [and] get back to governing – tackling rising living costs, [and] standing strong with Ukraine.”

In January 2011, Pritchard was reportedly involved in a confrontation with the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. The confrontation followed a dispute over parliamentary procedure where Bercow barred Pritchard from asking a question because the speaker believed he had not been in attendance at the start of the statement.

Bercow is said to have told Pritchard, upon passing the Conservative MP in a parliamentary corridor: “The courtesy of the House is that honourable members should stand aside when the speaker passes by.”

Pritchard is said to have responded: “Mr Speaker, don’t point at me. I am not here to be abused by you.”

Bercow hit back: “You will obey the courtesies of the House!”

Pritchard replied: “You are not f***ing royalty, Mr Speaker!”

Pritchard later stated: “I have not been sent to parliament to be abused by anybody. When somebody abuses me in this House, they are abusing my constituents.”

At the time, Pritchard was deputy chairman of the 1922 committee of Conservative backbenchers. He served as secretary of the 1922 committee from 2010 to 2012.

Earlier in January 2011, Pritchard called for an “early and unequivocal statement” from the Conservative leadership that no permanent electoral pacts or coalition deals were being planned between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

He warned against the creation of a “2015 Frankenstein or political chimera”, arguing that at the next election, “the Conservative Party must fight to win – to win an outright majority and send the Liberal Democrats packing.”

These comments came as reports suggested that senior Conservatives figures discussed how they might help the Liberal Democrat candidate win the 2011 Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election.

Pritchard was a member of the House of Commons Northern Ireland affairs committee (2016-2017), the international development committee (2012-2013), the transport committee (2008-2010), the Welsh affairs committee (2007-2010), the work and pensions committee (2006-2008), and the environmental audit committee (2005-2007).

Pritchard is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for Egypt, Georgia, India, Libya and Turkey.

Pritchard delivered his maiden speech on 26 May 2005.

In it, he said: “The defence sector is a key employer in The Wrekin, with RAF Cosford being one of the largest operational RAF stations in the world. It encompasses the defence college of aeronautical engineering, and there is also the defence repair, supply, logistics and procurement facility at Donington, with its numerous local suppliers of support services.”

He added: “Britain today, as many members have mentioned, is a world in which authority is undermined every hour of every day. It is as if ‘authority’ is an unattractive word – a word that dare not mention its name.

“We have seen authority taken away from parents, from teachers, from police officers and, perhaps as concerning, taken away from the very institution of collective government and the role of this parliament in bringing the Executive to account.”

Pritchard stood unsuccessfully for parliament in Warley in the 2001 general election, losing to the incumbent Labour MP John Spellar. He also served as a Conservative councillor on Harrow Council from 1993 to 1994 and later on Woking Borough Council from 2000 to 2004.

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2024: Pritchard supported Robert Jenrick’s candidacy in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Rishi Sunak following the party’s defeat in the 2024 general election.

Jenrick, a former immigration minister, positioned himself on the right wing of the party, advocating for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). He emerged as an early frontrunner, topping the first two parliamentary ballots. After reaching the final two, he was defeated in the membership vote by Kemi Badenoch, receiving 41,388 votes (43.5%) compared to Badenoch’s 53,806 (56.5%).

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Pritchard supported Grant Shapps’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s July-September 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Boris Johnson, following the mass exodus of more than 60 frontbenchers.

Shapps, the transport secretary, emphasised his loyalty to Johnson, saying he had not plotted “behind his back”. Shapps withdrew from the contest shortly before the nominations deadline, after failing to secure enough support from fellow MPs to reach the required 20-nomination threshold.

Pritchard went on to support Liz Truss’ candidacy. Truss, the then-foreign secretary, campaigned on a platform of sweeping tax cuts. After finishing second in the final parliamentary ballot with 113 votes, she won the subsequent vote of the party membership with 81,326 votes (57.4%) and was appointed prime minister on 6 September.

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Pritchard supported Boris Johnson’s explored candidacy in the Conservative Party’s October 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Liz Truss after just 45 days in office, following the financial and political tailspin triggered by her “mini-budget”.

Johnson, who had resigned as prime minister only months earlier, initially sought a return to office and claimed to have secured the 100 nominations required to proceed. However, he announced his withdrawal on 23 October, stating that “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.” Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, later confirmed that Johnson had indeed secured the 100 MPs necessary to force a ballot of the Conservative membership – which he could well have won.

Tory leadership 2019: Pritchard supported Boris Johnson for the party’s leadership in 2019. The election was triggered by the resignation of Theresa May following her inability to secure a Brexit deal acceptable to the Conservative Party.

Johnson, the former foreign secretary and mayor of London, campaigned on the central pledge to “deliver Brexit” by 31 October 2019, “deal or no deal”. He thereby positioned himself as the candidate best-placed to break the parliamentary deadlock. Johnson secured 114 votes in the first parliamentary ballot, and reached 160 votes in the final MP round. In the subsequent ballot of the party membership, Johnson won a decisive victory with 92,153 votes (66.4%).

Tory leadership 2016: Pritchard supported Theresa May for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The contest was triggered by the resignation of David Cameron following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

May, the then-home secretary, secured a commanding lead in the parliamentary stages, receiving 165 votes in the first ballot and 199 in the second. Following the withdrawal of her final rival, Andrea Leadsom, on 11 July, May was declared leader unopposed and was appointed prime minister two days later.

Factional identity and party tradition

Free Enterprise Group: Pritchard was a member of the Free Enterprise Group (FEG) of Conservative MPs – a parliamentary caucus, founded in 2011 by Liz Truss, that championed free-market, libertarian economic policies. The group, seen as a standard-bearer for the Thatcherite wing of the party, is most notable for the political ascent of its founding members. Key figures in the FEG included Truss, Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel, Dominic Raab and Chris Skidmore. The 2012 book, Britannia Unchained, served as the group’s unofficial manifesto for radical free-market reform. It was effectively succeeded by the Free Market Forum, which was launched in 2021.

Bright Blue: Pritchard has been listed as a parliamentary supporter of Bright Blue, an independent centre-right think tank and membership organisation that champions liberal conservatism in the UK. Since its founding in 2014, the organisation has expanded its reach through a new cross-party strategy.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Pritchard supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of his constituents, 59.3% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Pritchard 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.

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Pritchard voted against the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union.

Assisted dying

Pritchard 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, Pritchard was one of the 139 Conservative MPs to vote against 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): Pritchard voted in favour of 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.

Trident renewal (2016): Pritchard voted in favour of a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons.

Syria airstrikes (2013): Pritchard voted in favour of 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.

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Pritchard was among the group of MPs placed on a sanctions list by the Russian government. The measure barred them from entering Russia and was presented by Moscow as a retaliatory response to the UK’s stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (June 2025): In June 2025, Pritchard was among a group of eight Conservative MPs who attempted to deliver a letter to 10 Downing Street calling on the government to recognise a Palestinian state.

The letter read: “We write to express our strong support should the government recognise a Palestinian state… This decision would be a substantive act of diplomacy and a statement of commitment to equality and peace.”

“Successive UK governments have affirmed support for two states living side by side in peace and security, but without meaningful action, that vision is rapidly slipping away. Settlement expansion, the ongoing disproportionate destruction in Gaza, and political deadlock, are making a viable two-state solution harder to achieve with each passing day.”

Sir Edward Leigh, one of the letter’s signatories, stated that they were “locked out of Downing Street”.

Pritchard told the commons in May 2025 that he had “withdrawn” his support for Israel over its actions in Gaza.

Pritchard noted that over 20 years as a parliamentarian he had supported Israel “pretty much at all costs.”

He stated: “The fact is that 13,000 children have been killed, 25,000 have been injured, maimed, wounded, orphaned – some of them.

“And for many years – I’ve been in this House 20 years – I have supported Israel pretty much at all costs, quite frankly.

“But today, I want to say that I got it wrong and I condemn Israel for what it is doing to the Palestinian people in Gaza and indeed in the West Bank, and I’d like to withdraw my support right now for the actions of Israel, what they are doing right now in Gaza…

“Of course, the hostages should be released; of course, Israel has a right to exist; of course, the Israeli people, the Jewish people should have the right to live in peace, but so do the Palestinian people.”

He added: “We’ve had lots of statements over the last 18 months… I’m really concerned that this is a moment in history when people look back, where we’ve got it wrong as a country.

“Can the minister stand up to our friends and allies in the United States and make a strong stand for humanity? For us to be on the right side of history, for having the moral courage to lead – not just to follow the United States and to make a difference?”

The minister on duty commended Pritchard for his “very powerful intervention”, adding: “I hear his words and I feel their force”.

Hamish Falconer, the Foreign Office minister, added: “I will, of course, endeavour to stand up on the international stage, and here in this despatch box, equal to the strength of some of these contributions.”

Before Politics

Born on 22 November 1966, Pritchard grew up in Herefordshire, spending his first five years in an orphanage and subsequently in foster care, living in a council house.  

Pritchard attended London Guildhall University.

Before entering politics, he worked as a marketing consultant. He also served briefly as a press officer for the Conservative Party during the 1997 general election campaign.  

Personal Life

Pritchard was married to Sondra Spaeth from 1998 until their divorce in 2013.

According to his official website, Pritchard is “married to Tamuna and has one daughter and one step-daughter.”

Trivia

A supporter of Margaret Thatcher, Pritchard worked as campaign manager for her successor in Finchley, Hartley Booth.

Pritchard lists his interests as tennis, writing on economic and foreign policy issues, and comedy.

Pritchard, a keen footballer, once played a match for Hereford United Reserves.