Culture secretary Nicky Morgan to step down as MP - Museums Association

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Culture secretary Nicky Morgan to step down as MP

DCMS faces prospect of third culture secretary in less than a year
Museums Association
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Culture secretary Nicky Morgan has announced that she will step down as the Conservative MP for Loughborough at the upcoming General Election, which is taking place on 12 December.

Morgan was appointed head of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) by prime minister Boris Johnson in July this year, becoming the eighth culture secretary in nine years.

Her decision not to seek reelection means that, whatever the outcome of the ballot, there will be a new secretary of state at the DCMS in December – the third within the space of a few months. Morgan had succeeded Jeremy Wright, who was in the role for 10 months from September 2018.

In a letter to her local party chairman, Morgan acknowledged that the abuse she had faced as an MP in recent months had contributed to her departure. She wrote: "Being Loughborough's MP has been the greatest privilege of my life."

"But the clear impact on my family and the other sacrifices involved, and the abuse for doing the job of a modern MP can only be justified if, ultimately, Parliament does what it is supposed to do."

She is one of 50 Tory incumbents preparing to stand down.

During her brief tenure as culture secretary, Morgan oversaw the announcement of a £250m Cultural Investment Fund, which will include a £125m maintenance fund for regional museums, galleries and libraries. 

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