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Mark Oaten
Mark Oaten (born 8 March 1964) is a British politician who was a senior member of the Liberal Democrats. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Winchester from 1997 to 2010.
Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, Oaten became a councillor in local government, joining the centre-left Social Democratic Party, which merged with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats in 1988. He became the party's Home Affairs spokesman in 2003. He stood for the position of Leader of the Liberal Democrats in 2006, but withdrew from the contest. He was later hit by a series of scandals which also led to his resignation as Home Affairs spokesman. He did not seek re-election to the House of Commons at the 2010 general election.
Following his retirement from active politics, Oaten published two books, before becoming executive of the International Fur Trade Federation in 2011.
Oaten was educated at Queens' School, Bushey and the University of Hertfordshire.
Before entering Parliament, Oaten had been a councillor and was employed as a lobbyist by various Westminster public affairs companies. He was leader of the SDP group on Watford Borough Council. He stood for the Watford seat at the 1992 general election and polled 10,231 votes, finishing in third place.
Oaten won the Winchester seat in the 1997 election with a majority of two, but his election was later declared void by the Election Court. The defeated Conservative former MP Gerry Malone successfully challenged the election on the basis of an established precedent which voided the result where it had been affected by a decision not to count ballot papers which had not been properly stamped.
This decision caused the 1997 Winchester by-election at which Malone stood again. Oaten won with a majority of 21,556, gaining 68% of the vote. He held the seat in the 2001 election, with a majority of 9,634 (with a 54.6% share of the vote), and again in 2005, although his majority dropped to 7,473 (a 50.6% share of the vote).
On 10 January 2006, Oaten declared that he would be a candidate in the leadership election to replace Charles Kennedy, standing on an agenda of making liberalism relevant to the twenty-first century. He was widely rumoured to be Kennedy's favoured successor but his campaign failed to gain momentum. On 18 January, he became embroiled in a row about the leaking of an email.
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Mark Oaten
Mark Oaten (born 8 March 1964) is a British politician who was a senior member of the Liberal Democrats. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Winchester from 1997 to 2010.
Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, Oaten became a councillor in local government, joining the centre-left Social Democratic Party, which merged with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats in 1988. He became the party's Home Affairs spokesman in 2003. He stood for the position of Leader of the Liberal Democrats in 2006, but withdrew from the contest. He was later hit by a series of scandals which also led to his resignation as Home Affairs spokesman. He did not seek re-election to the House of Commons at the 2010 general election.
Following his retirement from active politics, Oaten published two books, before becoming executive of the International Fur Trade Federation in 2011.
Oaten was educated at Queens' School, Bushey and the University of Hertfordshire.
Before entering Parliament, Oaten had been a councillor and was employed as a lobbyist by various Westminster public affairs companies. He was leader of the SDP group on Watford Borough Council. He stood for the Watford seat at the 1992 general election and polled 10,231 votes, finishing in third place.
Oaten won the Winchester seat in the 1997 election with a majority of two, but his election was later declared void by the Election Court. The defeated Conservative former MP Gerry Malone successfully challenged the election on the basis of an established precedent which voided the result where it had been affected by a decision not to count ballot papers which had not been properly stamped.
This decision caused the 1997 Winchester by-election at which Malone stood again. Oaten won with a majority of 21,556, gaining 68% of the vote. He held the seat in the 2001 election, with a majority of 9,634 (with a 54.6% share of the vote), and again in 2005, although his majority dropped to 7,473 (a 50.6% share of the vote).
On 10 January 2006, Oaten declared that he would be a candidate in the leadership election to replace Charles Kennedy, standing on an agenda of making liberalism relevant to the twenty-first century. He was widely rumoured to be Kennedy's favoured successor but his campaign failed to gain momentum. On 18 January, he became embroiled in a row about the leaking of an email.