Jessica Elizabeth Morden (born 29 May 1968) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

serving as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Newport East since

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Early life and career

Morden was born in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and brought up in

Cwmbran Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales. Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...

and educated at

Croesyceiliog School Croesyceiliog School ( cy, Ysgol Croes-y-ceiliog) is a state-funded secondary school in the Croesyceiliog area of Cwmbran, in South Wales, UK. Setting Situated on high ground that overlooks the valley westwards, the school site lies within the ...

before reading History at

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. In 1991, Morden worked for

Huw Edwards Huw Edwards (; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh journalist, presenter, and newsreader. Edwards presents ''BBC News at Ten'', the corporation's flagship news broadcast. Edwards also presents BBC coverage of state events, international events, th ...

, MP for

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

and between 1992 and 1995 she worked for

Llew Smith Llewellyn Thomas Smith (16 April 1944 – 26 May 2021) was a British Labour Party politician. Early life and education According to Smith, his father was born in England and moved to Wales as a child. He began working at the local colliery ( Ne ...

, MP for

Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw ...

. Before becoming an MP, Morden was General Secretary of the

Welsh Labour Welsh Labour ( cy, Llafur Cymru) is the branch of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 1922 ...

and organized some of the election campaigns for the 1997 election.

Parliamentary career

Morden was selected as the Labour Party candidate for Newport East in 2005 by the

all-women shortlists All-women shortlists (AWS) is an affirmative action practice intended to increase the proportion of female Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom, allowing only women to stand in particular constituencies for a particular political p ...

method. She was elected as the first female MP in South East Wales with a 6,800 majority. Jessica served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Wales The Rt Hon Peter Hain MP until May 2010, and later as Shadow Parliamentary Private Secretary to Owen Smith MP during his time as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. In her first term Jessica successfully completed the Police Parliamentary Scheme, spending a month during recess with a range of Departments and frontline Police Officers in Gwent Police. She was also appointed by the Speaker to the Members’ Advisory Committee to oversee the setting up of the first ever Nursery in the House of Commons. Jessica served as a Senior Whip in the Opposition Whips’ office with responsibility for EU Withdrawal, Wales and Prime Minister's Questions. Posts held in Parliament: Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Steel and other Metal-Related Industries Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Western Gateway Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Mindfulness Chair of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Wales Hospitality and Tourism Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Suicide Prevention Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Children in Wales Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Rail in Wales Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Kurds and Kurdish Peoples Assembly Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Georgia Member of the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Nutrition for Growth Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Electric Vehicles Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Parkinsons Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Human Gut Microbiome Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Energy Security Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Loan Charge Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Energy Intensive Industries Member of PCS Parliamentary Group Member of GMB Parliamentary Group Member of Committee of Selection Member of the Speakers Committee on Electoral Registration Member of House of Commons Administration Committee She supported

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a former Labour Party politician and subsequently a British lobbyist, who has been the UK government relations director for pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb since 2020. Smith was Member of Parliamen ...

in the failed attempt to replace

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

in the 2016 Labour leadership election. Jessica Morden was re-elected at the 2017 general election with a much increased majority of 8,003. She was again re-elected in 2019 general election with a reduced majority of 1,992.

Charity work

Morden is one of nine presidents of The

Young People's Trust for the Environment Young People's Trust for the Environment (YPTE) is a British charity founded in 1982, to encourage young people's understanding of the environment. The charity's main goal is to give young people a real awareness of environmental issues such as cli ...

References

External links

Jessica Morden MP
''official constituency website''
Jessica Morden MP
Labour Party profile * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morden, Jessica 1968 births Living people People from Cwmbran UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Politics of Newport, Wales Welsh Labour Party MPs Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Welsh constituencies Alumni of the University of Birmingham People educated at Croesyceiliog School 21st-century British women politicians Labour Party (UK) officials