Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley, (born 17 June 1952), is a British politician and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

who served as

Secretary of State for Education and Skills The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the Ca ...

from 2001 to 2002. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Yardley from 1992 to 2005. As Education Secretary, she is known for removing compulsory modern languages from secondary schools in England in 2002.

Early life

Morris was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

into a political family. Her uncle, Alf Morris, was Labour MP for Manchester Wythenshawe (1964–1997) and her father,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, was Labour MP for Manchester Openshaw (1963–1983) and a Post Office union official who married Pauline Dunn. She attended Rack House primary school in

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is an area of Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a large housing estate there in the 1920s. With an area of approximately , ...

and Whalley Range Grammar School in Whalley Range where she failed her English and French A-levels. She is a graduate of the

Coventry College of Education Coventry College of Education existed as a separate institution until its incorporation into the University of Warwick in 1978 as the Westwood campus. It was located to the north of the university's main site. From 1948, the Principal of Coventr ...

, where she gained a BEd degree in 1974. Morris remembered the long-serving principal, Joan Dillon Browne (1912–2009), as "a pioneer in showing what women could achieve, long before it was fashionable to do so." Morris was a PE and humanities teacher at the inner-city Sidney Stringer School in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

from 1974 to 1992, becoming head of sixth form studies, and was a member of Warwick District Council from 1979 to 1991.

Parliamentary career

Morris was elected to Parliament in 1992 for Birmingham Yardley, gaining the seat from the Conservatives with a majority of only 162. She became a minister in the

Department for Education and Employment The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the Education in England, education system (including higher education and adult learning) as well as children's se ...

in 1997 and was promoted to

in 2001. She was the first former comprehensive school teacher to have the position. She suddenly resigned her post in October 2002, explaining that she did not feel up to the job. She had made a commitment to the then Conservative Shadow Education Secretary,

David Willetts David Linsay Willetts, Baron Willetts, (born 9 March 1956) is a British politician and life peer. From 1992 to 2015, he was the Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Havant in Hampshire. He served as Minister of State for Uni ...

to resign if the literacy and numeracy targets were not met. In interviews following her resignation she stated that she had felt happier and more effective as a junior education minister. She rejoined the government in 2003 as Minister for the Arts in the

Department for Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for Culture of the United Kingdom, culture a ...

, and caused further comment when she admitted that she did not know much about contemporary art. She stepped down from the government and as a Member of Parliament at the 2005 general election. Her constituency was gained by the Liberal Democrats at that election. On 13 May 2005 it was announced that she would be created a

, and she was conferred as Baroness Morris of Yardley, ''of Yardley in the County of West Midlands'', on 14 June 2005.

Career outside Parliament

Between 2005 and 2009 she was pro vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland. In May 2005, she was appointed chair of the Children's Workforce Development Council. In September 2005, it was announced that she would succeed Lady Kennedy of The Shaws as president of the

National Children's Bureau The National Children’s Bureau works collaboratively across the issues affecting children to influence policy and get services working together to deliver a better childhood. Established in 1963, they have been at the forefront of campaigning fo ...

. Also, since September 2005 she has been a member of the council of

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...

and she was chair of council until 2018. Since 2007 she has been chair of the executive group of the Institute for Effective Education at the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

. Morris is the chair of the medical charity, APS Support UK, for

antiphospholipid syndrome Antiphospholipid syndrome, or antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS or APLS), is an autoimmune, hypercoagulable state caused by antiphospholipid antibodies. APS can lead to blood clots (thrombosis) in both arteries and veins, pregnancy-relate ...

and was patron of Hanover Foundations.

Awards

In 2004, Morris was awarded an honorary D.A. degree from

Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univer ...

and an honorary D.Ed. degree from the

University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...

. She received an honorary D.Litt. degree from the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

on 21 July 2005, and the

University of Chester The University of Chester is a public university located in Chester, England. The university originated as the first purpose-built teacher training college in the UK. As a university, it now occupies five campuses, campus sites in and around Ch ...

on 18 March 2011, on 18 July 2007 she was awarded an honorary D.Ed. degree by

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

in recognition of her contribution to education throughout a lifelong career as a dedicated teacher and politician with an education portfolio that has spanned 10 years. She was awarded an honorary fellowship in 2007 from the University of Cumbria.

References

External links

*
TheyWorkForYou.com – Estelle Morris profile
theyworkforyou.com; accessed 21 March 2014.
BBC Estelle Morris profile
news.bbc.co.uk; accessed 21 March 2014.
BBC Anti-truancy drive removed French
news.bbc.co.uk; accessed 22 May 2024. , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Estelle 1952 births Living people Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Alumni of the University of Warwick Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies British Secretaries of State for Education Councillors in Warwickshire Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) life peers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Vice-chancellors of the University of Sunderland People from Wythenshawe UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 20th-century British women politicians 21st-century British women politicians 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women 21st-century English politicians Women councillors in England New Labour