Junior ministerial offices

Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office 9 April 2014 – 15 July 2014
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Sajid Javid
Succeeded by	David Gauke
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
In office 7 October 2013 – 9 April 2014
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Sajid Javid
Succeeded by	Andrea Leadsom

Further offices held

Chair of the Treasury Select Committee
In office 12 July 2017 – 24 July 2019
Preceded by	Andrew Tyrie
Succeeded by	John Mann (acting)
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office 13 January 2020 Life peerage
Member of Parliament for Loughborough
In office 6 May 2010 – 6 November 2019
Preceded by	Andy Reed
Succeeded by	Jane Hunt

Personal details

Born

Nicola Ann Griffith

10 October 1972 (age 52)
Kingston upon Thames, London, England

Political party

Conservative

Spouse

Jonathan Morgan

Children

Alma mater

St Hugh's College, Oxford

Nicola Ann Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Cotes (born 10 October 1972), is a British politician. She has held important jobs in the UK government. These include Secretary of State for Education (in charge of schools) and Minister for Women and Equalities (working for fairness for women and other groups). She was also Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (looking after things like TV, sports, and museums).

Before becoming a Baroness, she was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Loughborough from 2010 to 2019. An MP is a person elected to represent a local area in the UK Parliament. She was the first woman to lead the Treasury Select Committee, which checks how the government spends money.

Early Life and Education
Starting Her Political Career
- Working with Students
Important Government Roles
Later Parliamentary Work
After Government
Personal Life
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Education

Nicola Morgan was born in Kingston upon Thames, London, on 10 October 1972. She grew up in Surbiton and went to a private school called Surbiton High School. When she was 16, in 1989, she joined the Conservative Party.

She studied law at St Hugh's College, Oxford, a famous university. After university, she became a solicitor, which is a type of lawyer. She worked as a corporate lawyer, helping companies with their business deals.

Starting Her Political Career

Nicola Morgan first tried to become an MP in 2001 and 2005, but she didn't win. However, she kept working hard in the Loughborough area.

In the 2010 general election, she was elected as the MP for Loughborough. This meant she now represented the people of Loughborough in Parliament. Her first speech in Parliament was about money matters and jobs.

In 2012, she became an assistant whip, helping to make sure MPs from her party voted together. Later, she got a job helping the Treasury, which manages the country's money.

Working with Students

In 2010, Nicola Morgan praised the students of Loughborough Students' Union for raising lots of money for charity. She said it was a great example of people working together to help others.

She also took part in a TV show debate with a student leader about university fees. She explained that while costs could be high, it was fair for people to invest in their own education. She also said that university isn't the only way to continue learning.

Important Government Roles

Nicola Morgan held several important jobs in the government. These jobs are called "ministerial positions."

Minister for Women and Equalities

In 2014, Nicola Morgan became the Minister for Women and Equalities. In this role, she worked to promote fairness and equal opportunities for all people in the UK. She was also appointed a Privy Councillor, which is a special advisor to the King.

Secretary of State for Education

In July 2014, she became the Secretary of State for Education. This meant she was in charge of all schools and education in England. She replaced Michael Gove in this role.

One of her goals was to make sure children learned important life skills like "grit" and "resilience," not just academic subjects. She believed these skills were as important as good grades. She even announced funding to help schools teach these qualities.

In March 2016, she proposed that all schools in England should become "academies" by 2022. Academies are schools that are run independently from local councils. This idea caused some debate, and the plan was later changed to focus only on schools in areas that were not performing well.

Nicola Morgan left her role as Education Secretary in July 2016 when Theresa May became the new Prime Minister.

Views on Education

Nicola Morgan often talked about her ideas for schools. She supported the creation of "free schools" and the expansion of "academies," which were policies started by her predecessor, Michael Gove.

She also had a disagreement about school league tables in 2015. Some private schools used different exams called International GCSEs, which she felt were not strict enough. This meant their results were not included in the main league tables, which made some schools look like they were doing worse than they were.

Religious Education in Schools

In 2015, Nicola Morgan said that religious education in UK schools should mainly focus on Christian traditions. This was despite a court ruling that said teaching should include other beliefs like atheism and humanism. She is a member of the Conservative Christian Fellowship, a group for Christians in the Conservative Party.

Later Parliamentary Work

After leaving her education role, Nicola Morgan continued to be an active MP.

Chair of the Treasury Select Committee

In 2017, she was elected to lead the Treasury Select Committee. This committee is made up of MPs who check how the government spends money and manages the economy. She was the first woman to hold this important position.

Views on Brexit

Nicola Morgan supported the UK staying in the European Union during the 2016 referendum. After the vote to leave, she said that Parliament should not spend all its time just on Europe. She wanted a fair discussion about immigration, looking at both the good and bad sides.

She also voted with other MPs in 2017 to make sure Parliament had a "meaningful vote" on any deal the government made about leaving the European Union.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

In July 2019, Nicola Morgan joined Boris Johnson's government as the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. This job involves looking after things like the internet, TV, arts, sports, and museums in the UK.

In October 2019, she announced she would not stand again as an MP in the next election. However, she stayed in her government job by becoming a life peer in the House of Lords in January 2020. This meant she became Baroness Morgan of Cotes and could continue to represent the government from the House of Lords.

After Government

In February 2020, Nicola Morgan decided to step down from her government job.

In 2021, she signed an open letter asking the government to do more to stop violence against women and girls. In 2022, she was chosen to lead a UK committee that remembers those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Personal Life

Nicola Morgan lives in Leicestershire and London. She is married to Jonathan Morgan, who is an architect and a local politician. They have a son named Alex, who was born in 2008. She enjoys running in her free time.

She is a Christian and has been a churchwarden at All Saints Church, Loughborough, since 2023.

Images for kids

Official portrait, 2023

Nicky Morgan facts for kids

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