Alan Mak (politician)
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Alan Mak (born 19 November 1983) is a British
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who served
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General and the Fina ...
from July to September 2022. He was elected as the
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Castl ...
in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
in
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
.


Early life

Mak was born in
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
to
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
parents who were born in
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
and who settled in Hong Kong before moving to England, where they owned a Chinese food
take-away A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...
. He attended Queen Anne Comprehensive School, York until the age of 13, before gaining an assisted place to attend
St Peter's School, York St Peter's School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school (also referred to as a public school), in the English City of York, with extensive grounds on the banks of the River Ouse. Founded by St Paulinus of York in AD 627, ...
. He read Law at
Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...
, winning the ECS Wade Prize for Administrative Law, before completing a post-graduate law & business diploma in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, where he was a runner-up for the Oxford Leadership Prize. He subsequently practised as a
solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
with
Clifford Chance Clifford Chance LLP is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and a member of the "Magic Circle", a group of London-based multinational law firms. It ranks as one of top ten largest law firms in the world measured bo ...
. Mak was named Graduate of the Year by Realworld in 2005. In 2010, he was recognised with the award for Young City Lawyer of the year in Square Mile magazine's 30 under 30 awards in 2010. For over five years, Mak served as Trustee and later President of the child hunger and poverty charity Magic Breakfast. While serving as a Trustee, Magic Breakfast was awarded a
Big Society Award The Big Society Award is a British award set up by prime minister David Cameron in November 2010 as part of the Big Society initiative. The awards recognise community work done in the UK that demonstrates the Big Society. Over fifty awards had b ...
in 2011 by Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
. In recognition of his work with the charity, he was selected to carry the
Olympic Torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olym ...
on 20 June, 2012, in the town of
Bedale Bedale ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the district of Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north of Leeds, south-west of Middlesbrough and south-west of the county town of ...
as part of the
2012 Summer Olympics torch relay The 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from 19 May until 27 July, prior to the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The torch bearer selection process was announced on 18 May 2011. As well as touring the United Kingdom the schedule included the t ...
.


Parliamentary career


2015 general election

Mak was elected as Member of Parliament for Havant at the 2015 general election. He is the first
East Asian East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...
to be elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
. However, he is uncomfortable with being defined solely by his ethnic identity and has dismissed the notion that his election as MP would raise the profile of British East Asians. In an interview with the ''
South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...
''s ''Post Magazine'', he said "If the CFC and Chinese for Labour think I am going to be representing every Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Korean—and there are many in my constituency—they are mistaken. It's a stupid story. I am not standing for the Chinese population of Britain. I am standing for the people of Havant and my country". Following his election he expressed concern about the attention his ethnicity, and subsequent political breakthrough, was receiving from both international media and British Chinese groups.


Backbencher

One month after the 2015 general election, Mak was selected to participate in the
Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme The Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme (AFPS) offers Members of Parliament and Peers experience of the United Kingdom's armed forces. The Scheme runs annually and gives an insight into military life for all three Armed Services, Royal Navy, Army ...
in the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. In June 2015, Patrick Kidd wrote in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' that Mak had gained a reputation for "self-promotion" amongst his parliamentary colleagues and "is getting up people’s noses." It was also reported in ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' that Mak was prevented by Conservative MPs from sitting in his "favourite spot" behind
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
at
Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...
, which Mak had hoped would enable "a brief TV appearance." When Mak was appointed a government whip in 2021, Letts tweeted: "Years of assiduous loyalty are finally rewarded. A great day for greasers". Mak's loyalty was also noted by
Stephen Bush Stephen Kupakwesu Bush (born 21 March 1990) is a British journalist. He is columnist and associate editor at the ''Financial Times'' and has also written for ''The Guardian'', ''The Telegraph,'' '' i'' and ''New Statesman''. Early life and educ ...
, who described him as "a long-term specialist in parliamentary questions of the 'does the minister agree with me that the government is a friend to fluffy kittens and socially responsible businesses?' variety". Mak announced in February 2016 that he would campaign to remain in the EU in the June 2016 EU membership referendum. This decision was criticised by local party members as a political "
U-turn A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180° rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others, it is treated as a m ...
" and received speculation in ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' as being affected by "
careerism Careerism is the propensity to pursue career advancement, power, and prestige outside of work performance. Cultural environment Cultural factors influence how careerists view their occupational goals. How an individual interprets the term "caree ...
." Every year since 2016, Mak has run two annual constituency fairs, the Community Information Fair and the Jobs, Apprenticeships, and Careers Fair. The same year he also started the Small Business Awards for recognising the best local businesses in the constituency. In 2022, he began another annual constituency fair, the Community Health and Wellbeing Fair. Mak won the 2017 Newcomer Conservative MP of the Year Award in the annual cross-party MP of the Year Awards, hosted by the
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...
, for organising several community events. He later won the 2021 Conservative MP of the Year Award for creating the Havant Constituency COVID-19 Local Volunteer Network. In June 2017, following the result of the 2017 general election, Mak was mocked by BBC presenter
Simon McCoy Simon McCoy (born 7 October 1961) is a British journalist and former newsreader on BBC News and Sky News and presenter at GB News. Early life McCoy was born on 7 October 1961 in Hammersmith. He was educated at the independent Sherborne School ...
due to his repetition of soundbites defending
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
. McCoy asked: "Is this a speech you have all been given to read out?" in response to Mak stating: "Our job is to make sure we form a strong and stable government" and to "provide certainty". This was in contrast to popular opinion inside Westminster and among the public, that the result had caused instability within the Conservative Party and the government. McCoy responded by saying “Alan forgive me, I don’t know where you have been for the last few days". In 2016, Mak founded and chaired the
All-Party Parliamentary Group An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament. Description and functions All-party ...
(APPG) on the
Fourth Industrial Revolution The Fourth Industrial Revolution, 4IR, or Industry 4.0, conceptualizes rapid change to technology, industries, and societal patterns and processes in the 21st century due to increasing interconnectivity and smart automation. The term has bee ...
and has worked on future technology in Parliament. In 2018, Mak authored with the
Centre for Policy Studies The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is a think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independe ...
a report on modernising the
NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
on its 70th birthday which included a list of ten policy proposals. Mak introduced two Private Members Bills focused on modernising the NHS. The first calling for the banning of fax machines and pagers and the second proposing the NHS Reserves System Bill, which would create a volunteer reservist system in the NHS similar to the military reserve systems. Mak was selected to represent the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
APPG on the Fourth Industrial Revolution to the 2019 Munich Young Leaders conference, part of the
Munich Security Conference The Munich Security Conference (MSC; german: Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz) is an annual conference on international security policy that has been held in Munich, Bavaria, Germany since 1963. Former names are ''Wehrkundetagung'' and ''Münchner ...
. Mak has served on the executive committee of the British-American Parliamentary Group and visited the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 2015 as part of the US Department of State’s
International Visitor Leadership Program The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The mission of IVLP is to offer current and emerging international leader ...
. In 2020, Mak co-founded the Blossom Awards to “celebrate the success and contribution of the British-Chinese Community to the national life of the United Kingdom.”


In Government

On 21 April 2021, Mak was appointed a
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...
(
Government Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...
). He was the designated whip for the Ministry of Defence Ministers. The appointment made Mak the first British government minister of ethnic Chinese origin. On 8 July 2022, he was appointed
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General and the Fina ...
as part of outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s caretaker administration. Mak left the position on 7 September 2022, when
Felicity Buchan Felicity Christiana Buchan (born 1970) is a British politician serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Housing and Homelessness since October 2022. She served as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury from Sep ...
was named as his successor in the newly formed
Truss ministry Liz Truss was invited by Queen Elizabeth II—two days before the monarch's death—to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister of the United Kingdom on 6 September 2022. Johnson resigned as leader of the Conservative Party the previous day a ...
. Highlights of Mak's tenure as Exchequer Secretary included responding for the government in a
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
debate on Small Brewers’ Relief and the wider
HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...
review of alcohol duty and taxation, as well as visiting the Treasury's Darlington Economic Campus.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mak, Alan 1983 births Living people Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English people of Chinese descent English solicitors People educated at St Peter's School, York Politicians from York British politicians of Chinese descent UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present