Mark Wright is a Liberal Democrat politician from Bristol, United Kingdom. He was the councillor for Cabot ward from 2005 until the ward's abolition in 2016.Bristol City Council: Councillor Details He then was elected for the new successor ward of Hotwells and Harbourside in 2016. Between 2009 and 2011 he was Executive Councillor responsible for Housing, Service Improvement and IT on Bristol City Council in Bristol, England.
Background
Mark Wright was born in Bristol in 1974, went to schools in Bristol and has a degree in chemistry from University of Bristol. He also completed a PhD in astrophysics at Bristol University, with a thesis on "interstellar hydroxyl masers" that won the Royal Astronomical Society's prize for "Best PhD in the UK" in 2002.Royal Astronomical Society thesis prize winners
Politics
In his role on the council executive, Wright was responsible for nearly 30,000 council houses in the city that house over 60,000 residents,Bristol City Council: Budget 2009–2010 the first council house building program in Bristol for nearly 30 years.eGov Monitor: Council wins another £2.3m to finance more new homes Bristol 24/7: Landlords have "Social responsibility" to fill empty homes Under his IT remit he tightened the council's rules on RIPA authorisations to limit council "snooping" on residents.Bristol City Council: Council takes action to safeguard privacy He was also chairman of one of the City Council's planning committees from 2007 to 2009.
He was a member of the South West Provisional CouncilSouth West Provincial Council Members and sat on the "West of England Partnership" Planning and Housing Board.West of England Partnership Planning and Housing Board He was a Governor of St George's Primary School, which he helped save from closure in 2008.
He has a record of opposing ID cards,The Guardian: Council votes to oppose ID cards supporting tidal power in the Severn Estuary and supporting civil liberties,The BBC: Bristol plans to restrict outdoor play in parks withdrawnThe Guardian: Bristol plans ban for tree-climbing, skateboarding and 'annoying' football and campaigning for reform of Parliamentary expenses. He has also campaigned against nuclear powerOriginal 106.5: Bristolians "Should Have Say" On Nuclear PlansBristol 24/7: Call for city to oppose new nuclear power plants and against light pollution.Bristol City Council: Help us reduce unnecessary floodlighting says council housing chief Build.co.uk: Reduce Floodlighting, Says Housing Chief
In 2006 he helped save a popular piece of graffiti by local artist Banksy; an online petition he started collected over 3,500 signatures.Bristol Indymedia: Help protect Banksy's Park St mural, again!
He was the Liberal Democrat candidate for Bristol South constituency at the 2010 General Election and again for the 2015 General Election.
He writes a Substack called Liberal Frontier.Liberal Frontier
Open Standards advocacy
Wright has been a proponent of open source,The Register: Bristol Council mulls mixed FOSS, Microsoft upgrade open document formats, and open data in UK local government.
References
External links Bristol City Council Bristol Liberal Democrats Personal web page