Who is Stephen Morgan and what are the Portsmouth South MP’s opinions on Brexit?
Labour politician Stephen Morgan has been the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South since the 2017 general election.
In one of the biggest shocks of the snap election, he succeeded previous Tory MP Flick Drummond as Labour took the constituency for the first time in history.
Earning 18,290 votes, Morgan defeated Drummond with a majority of 1,554 and a swing of 21.5% to Labour.
He represents the waterfront city in the Houses of Parliament alongside Conservative Penny Mordaunt, who is MP for Portsmouth North.
After his victory, Morgan said that the city had “voted for hope”.
Speaking to The News, he said: “It has been a dream to be a candidate in this city and a privilege to meet so many people with a campaign faced on hope.”
He also pledged to stand up for Portsmouth’s schools and pensioners, as well as secure funding for the Queen Alexandra Hospital.
In his Twitter bio, Morgan describes himself as a keen photographer, cyclist and baker.
What is his background?
Thirty-seven-year-old Morgan has lived in Portsmouth his entire life and was born in Fratton, going to the Priory School and Portsmouth College in the city.
He later became the first member of his family to go to university, attending the University of Bristol to study politics and sociology.
Following his university success, he achieved a master’s degree in politics at Goldsmiths in London, a constituent college of the University of London.
He returned to his home city and worked in various departments at Portsmouth City Council.
A series of different roles followed, including Head of Community Engagement for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and the CEO of Basingstoke Voluntary Action.
In 2016, he was elected a city councillor for Charles Dickens ward on Portsmouth City Council, also becoming the Leader of the Labour Group shortly after.
What are his views on Brexit?
Morgan has not explicitly said whether he is in favour or opposed to Brexit, and which way he voted in the 2016 UK EU membership referendum is not known.
In January 2017, Morgan posted an article on his official website saying that Labour could make a success of Brexit.
The post was in response to a Theresa May speech on the Government’s priorities for Brexit and detailed the importance of ensuring that local businesses succeed, new investment is attracted and jobs for local people are created.
An event called ‘Brexit and the Labour Party: Stephen Morgan MP’ was arranged by the University of Portsmouth in November 2017, but was postponed.
In December 2017, Morgan was one of the ‘Tory rebels’ who voted in the House of Commons for the amendment to give Parliament a ‘meaningful vote’ over the Brexit withdrawal deal.
How can I contact him?
Morgan holds an advice centre on the third Saturday of every month except August from 10am-12noon on the ground floor of the John Pounds Centre.
The address for Morgan’s constituency office address is 72 Albert Road, Southsea, PO5 2SL.
In addition, emails can be sent to stephen.morgan.mp@parliament.uk; his constituency office number is 02392 291088 and his parliamentary office number is 020 7219 3906.
