Mark Ian Jenkinson (born 28 January 1982) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the abolished seat of Workington from 2019 to the 2024 general election.
He was educated at St Joseph's Catholic High School, Workington and Newton Rigg College, Penrith, where he briefly pursued agricultural studies, and then joined British Steel as an apprentice for a period of months.
[9] Jenkinson was a founding member of UKIP's West Cumbria branch but quit in 2016, citing disagreements about the party's approach to the EU referendum and concerns over internal democracy.
[10] After rejoining the Conservative Party, Jenkinson was elected in 2015 for the Seaton and Northside Ward of Allerdale Borough Council, where he became deputy leader in 2019.
"[14] The constituency was seen as symbolic at the 2019 election, with a political think tank coining the term 'Workington Man' to represent the type of swing voter the Conservatives needed to win from Labour.
[15] In October 2020, Jenkinson was criticised by Labour MP Jess Phillips after he stated that in his constituency in a "tiny" minority of cases "food parcels are sold or traded for drugs".
[17] The plan to create Woodhouse Colliery was "called in" for government consideration, and The Guardian reported in March 2021 that Jenkinson was one of a number of Conservative backbench MPs on a potential collision course with the prime minister Boris Johnson when a decision was made to put it on hold.
[18] Eventually, Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, approved the application in December 2022,[19] although the decision was subject to legal challenges which were ongoing at the time of the 2024 United Kingdom general election.