Tory wannabe Mark Clarke is getting his fingers burned after breaking up with nurse Sarah Gill.
The Tory candidate for Tooting, after a whirlwind romance, now faces allegations of complicity in acts of prostitution, possession of a knife with intent to do harm and a litany of acts of general caddishness.
In a full exposé in the Mail on Sunday, on the first day of Tory Conference, Mark is pictured with various friends, fellow candidates and David Cameron himself, none of whom will be pleased to see him in the coming week.
Even more embarrassing will be the national exposure of his one-time relationship with Putney MP Justine Greening and a range of references which will set journalists trawling through his facebook friends list. Hacks will want to know:
Given that so many of Clarke’s friends are influential Tories, very few will want to be seen with him this week - though they might want to know how many people he has talked to about their private lives.
Mark Clarke is mostly famous for his personal campaign to crack down on prostitution.
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[…] In a full exposé in the Mail on Sunday, on the first day of Tory Conference, Mark is pictured with various friends, fellow candidates and David Cameron himself, none of whom will be pleased to see him in the coming week.” Read the full article. […]
Tooting Tory taken to task over personal services said this on September 28th, 2008 at 7:05 am
[…] wonder if Tooting Tory Mark Clarke will get similar treatment at the Conservative Conference in Birmingham this week? […]
RecessMonkey » Blog Archive » Conference Freebies said this on September 28th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Ok, now that i have gone on the record about Mark I would like to say that I am NOT doing this because I am “scorned”. Frankly the fact that I had a relationship with this man leaves me feeling soiled.
I have gone public because I think this man needs bringing down a peg or two. If I thought that speaking to the Tories would do the trick I would have done so but I fear they would just close ranks. (sorry Justine- didn’t want to implicate you-Mark told me you tried to get him deselected - beware- he is indiscreet about who and what he tells people. Glad you are now friends.)
Everything I have said is true and Mark knows it. He has many characteristics which in my opinion (as a Tory and a constituent) make him unfit to be an MP.(God help us if he ever gets the title “honourable gentleman” after his name….)Let’s face it, who would you believe, me who has nothing to lose or gain or a highly ambitious man. He has a lot riding on becoming an MP, afterall he gave up his six figure salary to persue a life of public service…. (meanwhile happy to enjoy the generosity of his cash poor girlfriend!)
One thing I never accused Mark of is lying but having seen his response to the article that can be added to his list of characteristics.
Oh, about the girl who he slept with to get back at his friend. We were having a discussion about the saying “revenge is a dish best served cold” (or Mark’s version- revenge is a dish served hot over many courses”). He told me that he shagged her up the arse and boasted “I was FIRST”.
Mark was SO right when he said that we weren’t right for eachother- I prefer my men decent and with integrity.
sarah gill said this on September 28th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Sarah - a great and thoughtful reply which I completely concur with. Please email me at jjones943@gmail.com - I might have some interesting information for you . . .;-) JJ,
JJ said this on September 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I remember at Durham, he became tournament secretary of the Union Society. Among his first acts was to propose that all the debating teams from the different colleges should be brought under the control of the tournament secretary of the Union Society, even though that would mean less funding being available. In doing this he managed to get the Union Society censured by a college JCR for the first time in decades and was rounded defeated for president of the Union some time later.
Richard said this on September 28th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
There’s plenty on Mark Clarke - loathed by every tory I’ve met, and they aren’t afraid to say so. Vast majority of tories would happily see him beaten by the Labour incumbent - lots of fun to be had!
Mrk Clarke is hot hot hot said this on September 28th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
well speak up then chaps…
Emma said this on September 29th, 2008 at 8:34 am
He actually stood for President of the Durham Union Society twice - the first time he was ruled out of order for suggesting that he would buy free drinks for people if they voted for him. The second time he was just beaten by another candidate.
I’ve no idea whether the Mail story is true, but for those of us who knew him at university it’s totally believable. People who are interested in similar stories should ask questions about the circumstances which led to his leaving Procter and Gamble.
Anon said this on September 29th, 2008 at 9:04 am
[…] Tooting Tory PPC Mark Clarke is even less popular than Recess Monkey’s man in Birmingham, causing us to pity him a bit and […]
RecessMonkey » Blog Archive » Tory conference roundup said this on September 29th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Did you notice Mark Clarke was deleted from Wikipedia on grounds of non-notability? See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Mark_Clarke_%28politician%29
Particularly enjoyed this bit:
“The subject of the article appears to be more non-notable than the average. It seems to be straining for something to say when the article mentions that the subject stood unsuccessfully for President of his university debating society on two occasions.”
Anon said this on October 1st, 2008 at 10:59 am
[…] good week is a certain Mark Clarke - who is probably happy he’s at least managed to remain as their candidate for Tooting. Mark Clarke - "general bastard" or […]
Dizzy thinks… Mark Clarke is “a bastard” (and he’s not alone) : Conservative and Unionist said this on October 1st, 2008 at 8:31 pm
I have known Mark many years and have observed many scandalous things that he has been involved in where we were younger, but at uni who wasnt?!. Essentially however he is not a bad person, he is just a young bloke who likes to have some fun… we seem to expect all our politicains to be perfect but many of us have treated ex-s badly too. I would like to wonder if however the fact he was at uni with the other disgraced Tory Ian Oakley is more than a co-incidence? The 2 were involved in Durham Union Society together and knew each other well…
Anon said this on October 2nd, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Don’t know if the stories about the prostitutes are true, but if they are then:
1. The only intellectual space for the Tories to go into at the moment is basically not moralism but freedom. Keep government out of out wallets and bedrooms etc.
2. Again IF the stories (even the ones about him having a light-hearted attitude to what his friend got up to on the cricket tour), then obviously Clarke doesn’t actually think people should be stopped exchanging a bit of fun for money.
3. As a young leading member of an old people’s party he has an opportunity to take the party in a different direction and shape its development.
4. Despite the above he picks prostitution as the thing to run a campaign AGAINST.
The thing which is sickening for me is not the “hypocrisy” per se, but the strong suggestion from this that there are actually people in the major political parties who, like me, believe in small government but they are too afraid of “embarrassment” or “gaffes” (ie saying something the media don’t agree with) to actually get up on their hind legs and argue the case.
Richard said this on October 7th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
[…] Tory Mark Clarke, whose sex life seems to be becoming a regular feature in the Mail on Sunday, helpfully details his experience on the Conservative Party […]
RecessMonkey » Blog Archive » Male on Sunday said this on October 9th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
[…] A woman scorned (14) […]
When blogs die – Politics Unlimited | UK politics news said this on December 31st, 2008 at 3:31 pm