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{{short description|British Labour Party politician|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
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| successor1 = [[Tristram Hunt]]
| order =
| office = [[
| term_start = 2 May 1997
| term_end = 14 June 1998
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| partner = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married -->
| relations = Sir [[Nigel Fisher]] (father)
| children = 4, including
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]
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| website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20140517200210/http://markfishermp.com/]
}}
'''Mark Fisher''' (born 29 October 1944) is a British [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for [[Stoke-on-Trent Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Stoke-on-Trent Central]] from [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983]] to [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]] and [[
==Early life==
Mark Fisher is the son of Sir [[Nigel Fisher]], the former [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP for [[Surbiton (UK Parliament constituency)|Surbiton]] and Lady Gloria Vaughan, daughter of the
Before leaving university, Fisher had numerous low-paying jobs, including: working in a [[Cyril Lord]] carpet factory in Northern Ireland, as a [[Waiting staff|waiter]], as a kitchen porter, as a [[caddie]] on a [[golf course]], [[Building insulation|insulating roofs]], on a travelling [[
His film work consisted of writing screenplays for [[Harry Saltzman]] and two [[Play (theatre)|stage plays]]: in 1974 for the new Arts Council Horseshoe Theatre in [[Basingstoke]] and, in 1988, for the Theatre Upstairs, at the [[Royal Court Theatre|Royal Court]] in London.<ref name="mp" />
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He was elected as an MP for [[Stoke-on-Trent Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Stoke-on-Trent Central]] at the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]] following the retirement of the sitting Labour MP [[Robert Cant]]. Fisher held the seat with a majority of 8,250.
In parliament, Fisher served on the [[HM Treasury|Treasury]] [[Select committee (United Kingdom)|Select committee]] for three years from 1983. In 1985 he was appointed as an [[Whip (politics)|Opposition Whip]] by [[Neil Kinnock]] for a year in 1985. Following the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987 General Election]] he became the opposition spokesman on arts and media and following the [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992 general election]] he became the spokesman on the [[Citizen's Charter]], a year later in 1993, however, he was back as a spokesman at the newly named [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport|Department of National Heritage]]. In 1992 he introduced the "Right to Know Bill", a [[Private member's bill]], which, though unsuccessful, became the forerunner of the [[Freedom of Information Act 2000|Freedom of Information Bill]].<ref name="mp" />
He has served as the Patron for the [[National Benevolent Fund for the Aged]] since 1986, and was a member of the [[BBC]] General Advisory Council for ten years from 1987. He also served as a council member of the [[Institute for Policy Studies]] 1985–95, and was the deputy Pro-Chancellor of [[Keele University]] from 1989 until his entry to government in 1997. In 2000 he was a visiting fellow at [[St Antony's College, Oxford]].
In June 2009, Fisher called on Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]] to resign.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Breaking-News-Mark-Fisher-calls-Gordon-Brown-stand/article-1055558-detail/article.html |title=Mark Fisher calls on Gordon Brown to stand down |work=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Sentinel]] |date=5 June 2009 |access-date=5 June 2009 |archive-date=15 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615223422/http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Breaking-News-Mark-Fisher-calls-Gordon-Brown-stand/article-1055558-detail/article.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the [[United Kingdom
On 10 March 2010, Fisher announced that he would stand down as an MP due to health concerns, citing [[hydrocephalus]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8560864.stm |
===Political views===
On 31 October 2006, Fisher was one of 12 Labour MPs to back [[Plaid Cymru]] and the [[Scottish National Party]]'s call for an inquiry into the [[Iraq War]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6104310.stm |title=Labour MPs who rebelled on Iraq |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=31 October 2006}}</ref>
He opposed [[NHS foundation trust|foundation hospitals]] and the [[Trident (UK nuclear programme)|Trident]]<ref>[http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?id=uk.org.publicwhip/member/1841 Voting Record
Fisher believes that Parliament has become too much of a rubber stamp for government policy. He chaired the "Parliament First" group, which seeks to restore the balance of power to Parliament.<ref name="mp" />
His particular interest of the arts led him to criticize the [[Premiership of Tony Blair|Blair administration]] for what he called its obsession with "popular music, youth culture and new technologies" and "art created for and by young people"; instead he wished for a more "balanced" cultural policy.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/1991775.stm |title=Ex-minister attacks culture policy |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=17 May 2002 |first=Alex |last=Webb}}</ref>
In 2014, he co-wrote with academic Jeremy Gilbert the publication ''Reclaim Modernity: Beyond Markets, Beyond Machines''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://tribunemag.co.uk/2024/02/mark-fishers-futurist-labour-vision|title=Mark Fisher’s Futurist Labour Vision|first=Jeremy|last=Gilbert|magazine=[[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune]]|date=20 February 2024}}</ref>
==Personal life==
Fisher married Ingrid Geech Hunt in 1971 and fathered two children, Rhydian Fisher
Fisher has lived in the Stoke-on-Trent district of Hartshill since first running for Parliament.<ref name="mp" />
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Fisher refused the offer of a [[peerage]] ahead of the 2001 General Election.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2173667.stm |title=Mark Fisher – Profile |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=16 October 2002 }} {{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article717904.ece |title=Yard told to probe peerage offer to MP |work=[[Sunday Times]] |date=14 May 2006}}</ref>
Fisher's 2004 book ''Britain's Best Museums and Galleries'' listed what were, in his opinion, the 350 best museums in the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/features/2004/11/museum_book_2004.shtml |title=Mark Fisher MP lists top 350 Museums |
In October 2009, it was revealed that Fisher received an annual fee of £67,000 from the [[Doha]]-based [[Qatar Museums|Qatar Museums Authority]] for providing "advice on the development of the museums authority's plans", attending three board meetings a year.<ref>[[Patrick Hennessy (journalist)|
{{Quote box
|quote="Tony Blair manages to give the impression that he doesn't like trade unions, local authorities or the Labour party. People have sensed this and they don't like it."|source='''Mark Fisher in 2000'''<ref>{{cite news|author=Patrick Wintour |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2000/may/27/uk.labour |title=Ex-minister damns government spin |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=27 May 2000 |accessdate=17 May 2015 |location=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305053617/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2000/may/27/uk.labour |archive-date=5 March 2016 |author-link=Patrick Wintour }}</ref>|align=right|width=50%}}
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==References==
{{Reflist
==External links==
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