Julie Morgan
Encyclopedia
Julie Morgan AM is a British
Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Cardiff North
from 1997
until 2010; she is married to former First Minister of Wales, Rhodri Morgan
. Julie Morgan won the Cardiff North
seat in the Welsh Assembly in the 2011 elections
.
in 1944. She was educated at Dinas Powys Primary School and Howell's School Llandaff
. She then attended King's College London
where she graduated with a BA in English in 1965. Just as her first term at university was about to begin, a general election was called, and she returned to Cardiff to campaign for Jim Callaghan in the seat which was then Cardiff, South East.
Despite Callaghan's protestations that she should go back to university, she campaigned for his victory alongside Neil Kinnock
, the future Glenys Kinnock
and Rhodri Morgan
, whom she would marry in 1967. Following her undergraduate degree, Morgan studied at the University of Manchester
. She also holds a postgraduate diploma in Social Administration from University College, Cardiff
.
Before becoming a Member of Parliament, Morgan was a social worker with Barry Social Services
, and served as an assistant director of Barnardo's
. She was elected as a local councillor to South Glamorgan Council
between 1985 and 1997, and was a Cardiff City Councillor from 1995.
. She stood against Gwilym Jones in the constituency, historically a Conservative
stronghold. She achieved a 38.9% share of the vote to Jones' 45.1%, cutting his majority to 2,969.
Morgan was selected to stand for the seat once again in the 1997 election
, though this time she through an all-women shortlist
. This method of selection was subsequently declared illegal in January 1996 as it breached sex discrimination laws, Despite the ruling she remained in place as the candidate for the following year's election.
She took the seat with 24,460 votes — a 50.4% share and a majority of 8,126 on a marginally lower turnout than in 1992. She became the first woman to represent a Cardiff constituency and, at the time of her election, was one of only four women MPs from Wales. Morgan made her maiden speech in Parliament on 22 May 1997 in the debate on the Referendums (Scotland and Wales) Bill, designed to pave the way for devolution
. She subsequently joined the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, on which she served until 2005.
Morgan was re-elected at the 2001 general election
with a reduced majority of 6,165 and on a substantially reduced turnout (in common with the rest of the country). At the 2005 election
, her seat became the most marginal in Wales as her Conservative challenger reduced her majority to 1,146.
Commentators ascribed her victory to a strong personal vote, decisive in a campaign dominated by issues such as the Iraq war, criticism of Tony Blair
and a leap in council tax
caused by periodic revaluation of property values. Upon her re-election, she was appointed to the Constitutional Affairs and Public Administration Select Committees.
Between 16 December 2009 and 12 March 2010, she steered the Sunbeds (Regulation) Bill (a private members' bill) through the House of Commons. The bill has now passed to the House of Lords
for consideration.
In the 2010 election, Morgan polled 17,666 votes to the Conservative candidate (Jonathan Evans)'s 17,860 votes, losing by only 194 votes.
in higher education. She also opposed the war in Iraq and led a demonstration of "Labour Women Against War" in Cardiff city centre. Nevertheless, her voting record is supportive of the Labour Government, until it proposes a measure she cannot reconcile with her fundamental beliefs — such as the equal treatment of children, for instance in the asylum
system, or in respect of protection from violence
.
Morgan has been involved in the field of women's rights
(having heavily promoted the introduction of all-women shortlists for political parties), as well as the welfare of child
ren, black and minority
ethnic and disabled people. She is the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Children in Wales and is a member of numerous other APPGs, including those on Sex Equality and Compassion in Dying. Within the Parliamentary Labour Party
, she is an active member of the Women's Group.
Both she and her husband, Rhodri Morgan
, are Distinguished Supporters of the British Humanist Association
. Along with her husband, she supports lowering the voting age
to 16 and has presented a Bill to Parliament for lowering it.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Cardiff North
Cardiff North (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff North is aborough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
from 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
until 2010; she is married to former First Minister of Wales, Rhodri Morgan
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...
. Julie Morgan won the Cardiff North
Cardiff North (Assembly constituency)
Cardiff North is a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales. It elects one Assembly Member by the first past the post method of election...
seat in the Welsh Assembly in the 2011 elections
National Assembly for Wales election, 2011
The National Assembly for Wales election 2011 was the most recent election for the National Assembly. The poll was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 and decided the incumbency for all the assembly's seats...
.
Early life, education and career
Julie Edwards was born in CardiffCardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
in 1944. She was educated at Dinas Powys Primary School and Howell's School Llandaff
Howell's School Llandaff
Howell’s School Llandaff is an independent school in Llandaff, Cardiff. The school teaches girls from the age of 3 years up to 18, and contains a nursery, junior, senior school and a sixth form college...
. She then attended King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
where she graduated with a BA in English in 1965. Just as her first term at university was about to begin, a general election was called, and she returned to Cardiff to campaign for Jim Callaghan in the seat which was then Cardiff, South East.
Despite Callaghan's protestations that she should go back to university, she campaigned for his victory alongside Neil Kinnock
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...
, the future Glenys Kinnock
Glenys Kinnock
Glenys Elizabeth Kinnock, Baroness Kinnock and Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead is a British politician....
and Rhodri Morgan
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...
, whom she would marry in 1967. Following her undergraduate degree, Morgan studied at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
. She also holds a postgraduate diploma in Social Administration from University College, Cardiff
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
.
Before becoming a Member of Parliament, Morgan was a social worker with Barry Social Services
Barry, Wales
Barry is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. Located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel less than south-southwest of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the Barry Island Pleasure Park...
, and served as an assistant director of Barnardo's
Barnardo's
Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children and young people. As of 2010, it spends over £190 million each year on more than 400 local services aimed at helping these same groups...
. She was elected as a local councillor to South Glamorgan Council
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
between 1985 and 1997, and was a Cardiff City Councillor from 1995.
Member of Parliament
Morgan was selected by Cardiff North Labour Party as their candidate for the 1992 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
. She stood against Gwilym Jones in the constituency, historically a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
stronghold. She achieved a 38.9% share of the vote to Jones' 45.1%, cutting his majority to 2,969.
Morgan was selected to stand for the seat once again in the 1997 election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, though this time she through an all-women shortlist
All-women shortlists
The use of all-women shortlists is the political practice intended to increase the proportion of female Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom by allowing only women to stand in particular constituencies for a particular political party. Though the practice is available to all parties, only...
. This method of selection was subsequently declared illegal in January 1996 as it breached sex discrimination laws, Despite the ruling she remained in place as the candidate for the following year's election.
She took the seat with 24,460 votes — a 50.4% share and a majority of 8,126 on a marginally lower turnout than in 1992. She became the first woman to represent a Cardiff constituency and, at the time of her election, was one of only four women MPs from Wales. Morgan made her maiden speech in Parliament on 22 May 1997 in the debate on the Referendums (Scotland and Wales) Bill, designed to pave the way for devolution
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
. She subsequently joined the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, on which she served until 2005.
Morgan was re-elected at the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
with a reduced majority of 6,165 and on a substantially reduced turnout (in common with the rest of the country). At the 2005 election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, her seat became the most marginal in Wales as her Conservative challenger reduced her majority to 1,146.
Commentators ascribed her victory to a strong personal vote, decisive in a campaign dominated by issues such as the Iraq war, criticism of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and a leap in council tax
Council tax
Council Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
caused by periodic revaluation of property values. Upon her re-election, she was appointed to the Constitutional Affairs and Public Administration Select Committees.
Between 16 December 2009 and 12 March 2010, she steered the Sunbeds (Regulation) Bill (a private members' bill) through the House of Commons. The bill has now passed to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
for consideration.
In the 2010 election, Morgan polled 17,666 votes to the Conservative candidate (Jonathan Evans)'s 17,860 votes, losing by only 194 votes.
Politics
During her second term, she opposed variable tuition fees for university students, citing fears that it would open up a marketMarket economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
in higher education. She also opposed the war in Iraq and led a demonstration of "Labour Women Against War" in Cardiff city centre. Nevertheless, her voting record is supportive of the Labour Government, until it proposes a measure she cannot reconcile with her fundamental beliefs — such as the equal treatment of children, for instance in the asylum
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
system, or in respect of protection from violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
.
Morgan has been involved in the field of women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
(having heavily promoted the introduction of all-women shortlists for political parties), as well as the welfare of child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren, black and minority
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
ethnic and disabled people. She is the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Children in Wales and is a member of numerous other APPGs, including those on Sex Equality and Compassion in Dying. Within the Parliamentary Labour Party
Parliamentary Labour Party
In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party is the parliamentary party of the Labour Party in Parliament: Labour MPs as a collective body....
, she is an active member of the Women's Group.
Both she and her husband, Rhodri Morgan
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...
, are Distinguished Supporters of the British Humanist Association
British Humanist Association
The British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism and represents "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs." The BHA is committed to secularism, human rights, democracy, egalitarianism and mutual respect...
. Along with her husband, she supports lowering the voting age
Voting age
A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election.The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those of any age lower than the chosen threshold lack the necessary...
to 16 and has presented a Bill to Parliament for lowering it.
External links
- Julie Morgan official campaign website
- Julie Morgan MP Welsh Labour Party profile