- Nicky Morgan (politician)
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Nicky Morgan MP 
Member of Parliament
for LoughboroughIncumbent Assumed office
6 May 2010Preceded by Andy Reed Majority 3,744 (7.1%) Personal details Born 1 October 1972
Kingston upon Thames, London, EnglandNationality British Political party Conservative Spouse(s) Jonathan Morgan Children Alex (born 2008) Alma mater St Hugh's College, Oxford Profession Solicitor Religion Christian Website NickyMorgan.com Nicola Ann Morgan (born 1 October 1972) is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Loughborough.
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Background
Morgan was born in Kingston upon Thames. She grew up in Surbiton and attended Surbiton High School before studying law at St Hugh's College, Oxford. She qualified as a solicitor in 1994 and worked as a corporate lawyer specialising in mergers and acquisitions before taking on an in-house counsel role advising on corporate law matters.[1]
She is married to Jonathan, an architect. They have one son, Alex, who was born in January 2008.
In her spare time Morgan runs, attends her local church and enjoys cooking, skiing and the cinema.
Political career
Morgan joined the Conservative Party in 1989 and was the Chair of Wessex Young Conservatives from 1995–97 and Vice-chair, Battersea Conservatives from 1997-99.[2] She fought Islington South and Finsbury in the 2001 General Election. She was a school governor for 8 years.
Morgan was first selected for the Loughborough seat in 2004 and in the 2005 General Election Morgan achieved a swing to the Conservatives in the Loughborough seat, making it the most marginal seat in the East Midlands. Morgan was reselected for the Loughborough seat in 2006.
In the 2010 General Election Morgan was elected as the MP for Loughborough on a swing of 5.5% with a majority of 3,744 votes.[3] She made her maiden speech in a debate on Economic Affairs and Work and Pensions on 8 June 2010.[4] In June, 2010, she was selected as a Conservative member of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee but was replaced following promotion in September to parliamentary private secretary to the Universities and Science Minister David Willetts.[5]
Student fees
On 7 November 2010, Morgan appeared on the Politics Show with Lucy Hopkins, Loughborough Students' Union President to continue an earlier on-campus debate on the tripling of student tuition fees.
Morgan agreed that the fees could be daunting but said it was fair to ask people to invest in their own education and that the numbers wanting to attend was unsustainable. Some universities might decide not to charge the full amount. The reforms were also about putting students in the driving seat and they should ask a lot more questions about how courses would improve employment prospects. The Government and universities should work together to show why education was worthwhile. Financial help in the form of a National Scholarship program was available. Higher earners would pay a greater rate of interest.
Hopkins agreed the Government had tried to find fairer options but said 18 year olds would still be paying off up to £40k of debt when their own children went to university. Whilst the government blamed the economic crisis on excessive debts, debt was exactly what students were now taking on and there was no guarantee of a better job - or even a job at all. It was very naive of the Government to think poor students would not be deterred. Future business leaders should go to the best universities but first generation students would either chose an affordable university or not attend. People were very emotional and passionate about higher education.
Morgan said people would have up to 30 years to pay off debts and would pay nothing until their salary reached £21k. She herself had taken 8 years to pay her much smaller debts. University wasn't a rite of passage and there were lots of other ways of continuing education. She would advise the Government on points from the debate.[6]On 17 November 2010 around 100 Loughborough students joined UK student tuition fee protests. A small group of protesters subsequently broke from the demonstration, threw missiles at police officers and rioted at the Conservative Party headquarters in Millbank. No Loughborough students were involved and Hopkins condemned the rioters.[7]
In July 2011, The Office for Fair Access released fee details showing the average charge for 2012 is expected to be £8,393 -nearly £900 more than predicted.[8]Other issues
In July 2010, Morgan asked the Prime Minister to join her in congratulating Loughborough university student union rag committee on raising more money on behalf of the Royal British Legion than any other rag in the country.[9] Both agreed it was an example of the Big Society in action.[9]
In February 2011, she visited the new offices of Dialog Devices at Loughborough Innovation Centre[10] The company has been awarded a Department of Health grant for development of a device with the potential to provide an early diagnosis of Peripheral arterial disease.[10]Notes
- ^ "Nicky Morgan". Conservative Party. http://www.conservatives.com/People/Members_of_Parliament/Morgan_Nicky.aspx. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Nicky Morgan MP Loughborough, Conservative". BBC:Democracy Live. http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/representatives/profiles/31696.stm. Retrieved 21-May-2010.
- ^ Isaac Ashe (7 May 2010). "Loughborough seat won by Conservative Nicky Morgan". Loughborough Echo. http://www.loughboroughecho.net/news/loughborough-news/2010/05/07/loughborough-seat-won-by-conservative-nicky-morgan-73871-26394388. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "House of Commons debates:Speaker Nicky Morgan". theyworkfor you.com. 8 June 2010. http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debate/?id=2010-06-08a.219.0. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
- ^ "New MPs tipped for the top?". BBC news. 15 September 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/johnhess/2010/09/new_mps_tipped_for_the_top.html. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
- ^ BBC Politics Show East Midlands 7 November 2010
- ^ "Loughborough students avoid tuition fees riots". Loughborough News. 17 November 2010. http://www.loughboroughecho.net/news/loughborough-news/2010/11/17/loughborough-students-avoid-tuition-fees-riots-73871-27671001/. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
- ^ Kate Loveys (12-July-2011). "Thousands of university places at risk after ministers' £2billion fees blunder". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013689/Thousands-university-places-risk-ministers-2billion-fees-blunder.html#ixzz1Ss5k5HJs. Retrieved 22-July-2011.
- ^ a b "House of Commons: Wednesday 14 July 2010" Parliament of the United Kingdom. 14 Jul 2010. Last accessed 19 Feb 2011.
- ^ a b "MP sees innovation in practice at Loughborough University spin-out company" Loughborough University. 15 Feb 2011. Last accessed 19 Feb 2011.
External links
- NickyMorgan.com - official website
- Conservative Party profile
- TheyWorkForYou.com Nicky Morgan Conservative MP for Loughborough
Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by
Andy ReedMember of Parliament for Loughborough
2010–presentIncumbent Categories:- 1972 births
- Living people
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- UK MPs 2010–
- Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
