British Conservative Party
The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, ...
politician. He was 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 o ...
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
and the Conservatives before being elected to the County and Borough councils, rising to become Leader of Northampton Borough Council in 2011.
Education
Mackintosh was educated at Roade School, a state comprehensive school in
Roade
Roade is a village in Northamptonshire, England. Currently in West Northamptonshire, before local government changes in 2021 it was represented by South Northamptonshire District Council, falling within the two-member Blisworth and Roade ward. ...
in Northamptonshire, followed by Durham University, where he studied
Politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
.
Political career
After his graduation in 2001, Mackintosh worked as a political counsellor in the European Parliament until 2004, before leaving to assume a post at
Conservative Campaign Headquarters
The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and manag ...
as a political consultant to the Conservative Party. He was elected to
Northamptonshire County Council
Northamptonshire County Council was the county council that governed the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire in England. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, recreated in 1974 by the Local Government Act 19 ...
for Ecton Brook on 4 June 2009 and to Northampton Borough Council for Rectory Farm in 2011. In May 2010, Mackintosh was appointed as Cabinet Member for Strategy, Communications and External Relations. He had previously held the position of Assistant Cabinet Member for Leadership and Strategic Support. He served as leader of Northampton Borough Council – the youngest the council has ever had – from November 2011 until his election to parliament. In addition, he served as cabinet member for Community Services.
Mackintosh was opposed to
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...
prior to the 2016 referendum.
Mackintosh was facing the prospect of being deselected by his local party, but he announced he would not stand in the June 2017 general election.
Marquess of Northampton
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...
to
Northampton Museum
Northampton Museum and Art Gallery is a public museum in Northampton, England. The museum is owned and run by West Northamptonshire Council and houses one of the largest collection of shoes in the world, with over 15,000 pairs,Philistine of the Year" by '' Private Eye'' magazine for approving the sale of the statue, which the Save Sekhemka Action Group called the "darkest cultural day in orthampton'shistory".
Unsecured Council loan to property developer
When Mackintosh was leader of the borough council, the authority made a £13.5 million loan to Northampton Town football club, intended to pay for improvements at the club's
Sixfields Stadium
Sixfields Stadium is a 7,798-capacity all-seater sports stadium in the Sixfields area on the west side of Northampton, England. It has been the home ground of Northampton Town Football Club following their move from the County Ground in Octob ...
, including a new east stand. However, the project collapsed with £10.25 million owed to the council.
In November 2015, both the BBC and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper reported that Howard Grossman, the director of a company responsible for rebuilding Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium, had provided a £6,195 undeclared payment to Mackintosh's election campaign. Three other businessmen, with links to Grossman, each reportedly made donations of £10,000 to Mackintosh's campaign; one of them admitting to a journalist that he was given the money by Grossman and instructions to pay it to Mackintosh's parliamentary campaign fund. In September 2013, while Mackintosh was still leader, the council had provided an unsecured loan to the company which went into administration owing them millions of pounds.
The BBC reported that the police had started an investigation into alleged irregularities surrounding the loan. On 29 July 2016, Northamptonshire Police confirmed the Electoral Commission had asked them to investigate the three donations totalling £30,000.
On 28 March 2018, the BBC reported that Mackintosh had attended a voluntary interview with police under caution on 26 March 2018. The BBC also reported that whilst attending the interview police officers attended Mackintosh's home for several hours and took items away.
In June 2021, seven people were charged under the
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets out how political parties, elections and referendums are to be regulated in the United Kingdom. It formed an important pa ...
over donations made to the Northampton South Conservative Association in 2014. In August 2021 one defendant was convicted and fined £6,000. In November 2022 two defendants pleaded guilty.