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Stephen Morgan (British politician)

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Stephen Morgan
MP
Official portrait, 2017
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Early Education
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byOffice established
Shadow Minister for Rail
In office
6 September 2023 – 5 May 2024
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byTan Dhesi
Shadow Minister for Schools
In office
4 December 2021 – 5 September 2023
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byPeter Kyle
Succeeded byCatherine McKinnell
Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces
In office
9 April 2020 – 4 December 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byWayne David
Succeeded byStephen Kinnock
Shadow Minister for Defence Procurement
In office
16 January 2020 – 9 April 2020
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byWayne David
Succeeded byKhalid Mahmood
Shadow Minister for Communities
In office
17 July 2019 – 9 April 2020
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byYvonne Fovargue
Succeeded byNaz Shah
Member of Parliament
for Portsmouth South
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 June 2017[1]
Preceded byFlick Drummond
Majority13,155 (33.8%)
Personal details
Born
Stephen James Morgan[2]

(1981-01-17) 17 January 1981 (age 43)
Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
Political partyLabour
Residence(s)Southsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
Alma materUniversity of Bristol
Goldsmiths, University of London
Websitewww.stephenmorgan.org.uk Edit this at Wikidata

Stephen James Morgan (born 17 January 1981)[3] is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Portsmouth South since 2017.[4][5]

Early life and career

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Stephen Morgan was born on 17 January 1981 in Portsmouth, Hampshire. He attended the comprehensive Priory School in Fratton and then Portsmouth College in Baffins.[6] He then studied politics and sociology at the University of Bristol before gaining a master's degree in politics at Goldsmiths in London.[7]

Morgan has been chair of Portsmouth Cultural Consortium, a resident-led group committed to improving the city through cultural regeneration, vice chair of Age UK Portsmouth and a governor at Arundel Court Junior School and his former secondary, Priory School.[8]

Before going into politics, Morgan's career was in local government working at Portsmouth City Council, later becoming Head of Community Engagement for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.[9] From 2015 until 2017, he was CEO of Basingstoke Voluntary Action.[10][11] This role allowed him to run for public office for the first time and in May 2016 he became the councillor for Charles Dickens, a central ward in Portsmouth City Council. Later that year, he became the Leader of the Portsmouth Labour Group.[12]

In 2016 Morgan campaigned for Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum. He was an early supporter of the People's Vote campaign[13] arguing that the public should be given another chance to vote on Brexit. He vowed to lead the remain campaign in Portsmouth if this referendum had taken place.[14]

Parliamentary career

[edit]

At the snap 2017 general election, Morgan was elected to Parliament as MP for Portsmouth South with 41% of the vote and a majority of 1,554.[15][16] In his victory speech Morgan said: "Portsmouth had voted for hope".[17] He later said: "It has been a dream of mine to be an MP ever since I joined the party at the age of 16".[7]

He is an officer on the Key Cities APPG, Cycling APPG, and LGBT Labour,[18] and a member of the Fabian Society.

Morgan frequently speaks out on veterans' issues citing Portsmouth's naval history and his own grandfather's military service as his motivation. On 3 April 2019 he hosted a Westminster Hall debate calling on the government to take further action on reducing veteran suicide. During the debate Morgan called on the Government to begin recording veterans' suicide, claiming this will improve mental health support services for the armed forces and veterans.[19][20]

Morgan has criticised spending cuts to schools and colleges.[21] He set up the "Inspiring Fratton" awards to inspire people from his home district to "aim high, work hard, and achieve their dreams".[22]

In Parliament, Morgan has served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Andrew Gwynne, the Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and on the Public Accounts Committee. From July 2019 until April 2020, he served in the Shadow Communities and Local Government team as a Shadow Minister. The brief included policy areas such as adult social care, children's services, faith and community cohesion, welfare reform and debt services to community pubs.

Morgan has vowed to not report constituents to the Home Office for immigration enforcement.[23]

At the 2019 general election, Morgan was re-elected as MP for Portsmouth South with an increased vote share of 48.6% and an increased majority of 5,363.[24][25][26]

From January 2020 until April 2020 Morgan was the Shadow Minister for Defence Procurement. The brief included the delivery of the equipment and support, nuclear enterprise, exports, cyber, innovation, science and technology, estates and environment and sustainability.[27] In April 2020, the new leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer appointed him as Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces.[28] In October 2020, Morgan was elected co-chair of Labour Friends of the Forces.[29]

In August 2020 Morgan was nominated for Patchwork Foundation's Member of Parliament of the Year award.[30]

Morgan was Shadow Minister for Schools from December 2021 to September 2023, and in this capacity often voiced support for free school meals, at the local and at the national level.[31][32][33]

In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle he was appointed Shadow Minister for Rail.[34]

At the 2024 general election, Morgan was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 48.4% and an increased majority of 13,155.[35][36] After the election, Morgan was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Early Education.[37][38][39]

Morgan is a member of Labour Friends of Israel[40] and Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East.[41]

Personal life

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Morgan lives in Southsea.[7] He is a patron of LGBT+ Labour and is gay,[42][43] having supported Portsmouth Pride for many years.[44] In 2023, he was recognised as "LGBT trailblazer" by Attitude magazine.[45]

References

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  1. ^ "Stephen Morgan – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk.
  2. ^ "No. 61961". The London Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 11784.
  3. ^ "Stephen Morgan MP". myparliament.info. MyParliament. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Stephen Morgan MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Portsmouth Labour Party". Portsmouth Labour Party. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Morgan, Stephen". Who's Who. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 14 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  7. ^ a b c "Labour's new Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan: 'I will champion the people of this city'". Portsmouth News. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Stephen Morgan MP". LinkedIn. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  9. ^ "About Stephen Morgan". Stephen Morgan. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Basingstoke Voluntary Action". Companies House. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Stephen Morgan Starts as New Chief Executive at BVA" (PDF). Hampshire CVS Network. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  12. ^ "City Council Elections 2016 – Thursday, 5th May, 2016". Portsmouth City Council. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Mixed reaction as Portsmouth MP supports 'all options' Brexit vote". www.portsmouth.co.uk. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Portsmouth MP vows to lead city's campaign for public vote on final Brexit deal". www.portsmouth.co.uk. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Labour gain Portsmouth South seat from Conservatives". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Portsmouth South parliamentary constituency – Election 2017". Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  17. ^ "New Labour MP for Portsmouth South says city 'voted for hope'". Portsmouth News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  18. ^ "Patrons – LGBT+ Labour". Lgbtlabour.org.uk. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  19. ^ "Portsmouth MP demands Britain does more for its veteran community gripped by suicide epidemic". www.portsmouth.co.uk. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  20. ^ "Stephen Morgan: We must stop turning a blind eye to veteran suicide". PoliticsHome.com. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  21. ^ "'Portsmouth against school cuts' needs your help". Portsmouth Labour Party. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  22. ^ "Unsung heroes from Fratton sought for awards". Portsmouth News. 19 June 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2023 – via PressReader.
  23. ^ "MPs not border guards – pledge signatories | Global Justice Now". Globaljustice.org.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  24. ^ "Labour increases majority in Portsmouth South". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  25. ^ "Portsmouth South". BBC News. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  26. ^ "Portsmouth South parliamentary constituency – Election 2019 – BBC News". Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  27. ^ "Portsmouth MP Stephen Morgan promoted to Labour's shadow defence minister". www.portsmouth.co.uk. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  28. ^ "Keir Starmer appoints Labour frontbench". The Labour Party. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  29. ^ "Reflecting on a year of Labour Friends of the Forces". Fabian Women. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  30. ^ Munn, Jonah. "Stephen Morgan 'humbled' to be nominated for national MP of the Year". Stephen Morgan. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  31. ^ "City MP calls on the Government to fund free school meals throughout the holiday". stephenmorgan.org.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  32. ^ Weale, Sally; Adams, Richard; Butler, Patrick (10 November 2022). "Teachers reveal scale of pupils' hunger as 100,000 frozen out of free school meals". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  33. ^ "Free school meals: How your Hampshire MP voted last night". Andover Advertiser. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  34. ^ Belger, Tom (5 September 2023). "Labour reshuffle: Starmer unveils six new shadow ministers of state". LabourList. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  35. ^ "Election results for Portsmouth South". Portsmouth City council. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  36. ^ "Portsmouth South results". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  37. ^ "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Early Education) – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  38. ^ "Stephen Morgan MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  39. ^ Stephen Morgan MP [@StephenMorganMP] (9 July 2024). "Honoured to be joining @bphillipsonMP's Ministerial team @educationgovuk to deliver better childcare and early education" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 July 2024 – via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  40. ^ "LFI Parliamentary Supporters". Labour Friends of Israel. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  41. ^ "Parliamentary Supporters". LFPME. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  42. ^ "Patrons". LGBT+ Labour.
  43. ^ Peart, John. "LGBT+ Members of Parliament". John Peart.
  44. ^ "Statement on Portsmouth Pride Day – Stephen Morgan MP". Portsmouth Labour Party. 20 June 2020.
  45. ^ Staff, Attitude (10 February 2023). "Attitude 101 empowered by Bentley: Meet the LGBTQ trailblazers changing the world in 2023". Attitude. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
[edit]
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South
2017–present 		Incumbent
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