EXCLUSIVE: The Welsh Labour MS gives her first full interview since announcing her departure from the Senedd
AFTER decades of political achievements, Julie Morgan believes the time is right to let someone else have a go.
The MS for Cardiff North announced last week that she won’t be standing in the 2026 Senedd elections, ending her 28 years as an elected politician.
“It’s the right sort of time to go. It seems to me, there’s quite a lot of people who are interested in standing, that somebody else should have a chance,” she said.
However the Welsh Labour member stressed that the end of her political career was “still some time away” and hopes to continue fighting for important issues such as equality and justice.
“I’m not really concentrating on what that could be yet. I think you usually find that things find you.”
‘To be able to bring it in myself, it was wonderful’
Julie is among the quarter of Labour Senedd members stepping down next year. Together they represent 114 years of experience.
Their departure coincides with a shake-up of politics. The 2026 Senedd election will introduce more MSs, new constituencies and a different voting system.
Ms Morgan, who was married to the late Rhodri Morgan, former leader of the Welsh Labour Party, has been an elected politician since 1985 when she became a South Glamorgan councillor.
She says her proudest achievement at the Senedd was the so-called ‘smacking ban’. The law made all forms of physical punishment against children illegal in Wales, providing young people with the same level of protection against assault as adults.
“We had a big campaign in Westminster to get this through there, but the government wouldn’t countenance it at the time. It was great to be able to come to Wales and then have another long battle to get it in. To be able to bring it in myself, it was wonderful,” she said.
She has also been a Deputy Minister, fought for votes for 16 and 17-year-olds in Wales, campaigned for a public inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal, chaired numerous cross-party groups and supported environmental and women’s issues.
‘It just seemed to me if a woman was going to try, I’d have to have a go’
After first standing for parliament in 1992, she became the first woman to represent Cardiff as an MP in 1997.
She was one of the 101 female MPs elected during the 1997 General Election, a “mould-breaking” moment for British politics.
“Glamorgan was very male dominated. When parliamentary seats were coming up, everybody was gloomy because they would be going to men. It just seemed to me if a woman was going to try, I’d have to have a go,” said the veteran politician.
“It was a shock to some of the well-established men who were there. They couldn’t quite make out who all these women were and it was difficult to talk about things traditionally people have thought of as female subjects,” she added.
“If you raised something like childcare, you’d have sniggers from the Opposition benches who thought it was something to mock and they did do their best to put you off. They made it very awkward.
“The men were very traditional, old fashioned. It was a bit like a boys’ club.”
The advocate for women’s issues told me that gender equality in politics has improved but it needs to be more diverse to be representative of the public.
As a Labour MO she promoted bills to ban smoking in public places, introduce votes for 16 and 17-year-olds, and prevent under-18s from using sun-tanning beds, the last of which became law in 2010.
“The three private members bills I had were the things that I felt most proud of, really, because that was actually a law in the making.”
“And of course, taking part in the devolution debate, that was the first thing that we did in Westminster. It was great to be part of that.”
‘Sometimes you feel a bit frustrated by things’
Ms Morgan’s career hasn’t come without difficulties however.
“It took a long time to get a lot of things achieved. It took an awful long time to get the physical punishment law achieved. I had to campaign for that for so long and it was very difficult,” she said.
Last year the MS’s motion calling for assisted dying in Wales was defeated in the Senedd, despite a bill moving forward in Westminster.
“I think that will come. It’ll come sometime, soon. It’s important to take time because you can look at all the different issues there. But sometimes you feel a bit frustrated by things,” said the long-serving politician.
When asked what she advice she would give her younger self she said: “To be a bit bolder.
“I’ve always felt quite nervous and unsure about things, which hasn’t stopped me from doing things but I maybe wasted a bit of time feeling like that.”
“One of the best things about the job has been meeting people and listening to them and not always being able to help, but giving them a space,” she added.
“I’d like to thank all those people who have confided in me, a lot of people. A lot of people have done that.”‘
From party infighting, to Vaughan Gething’s controversial tenure as First Minister, and public criticism over the NHS and winter fuel payments, Ms Morgan’s departure comes at a difficult time for Welsh Labour.
It has been Wales’s largest party at all six Senedd elections. However, a recent voting intention poll showed Plaid Cymru leading with Welsh Labour behind, tied with Reform.
“I think there is a lot of cynicism within the public. I think that’s one of the big challenges and people not having much trust in politics.
“People have had a tough time. It would be great if they could feel a bit of well being, because there’s still a lot of people who are very bruised by all the different things that have happened.
“It’s very important that we emphasise what we have achieved and what we can still achieve, because there have been achievements in Wales. I think we’ve got every chance of being able to do that before the next Senedd election,” she said.
I asked the departing MS if she would miss life as a politician.
“I’ll miss the excitement and the buzz and feeling stretched but I won’t miss the slightly relentless pace of it all. I hope there’ll be a bit more space.”
The 80-year-old is looking forward to reading more books, going cold water swimming and gardening.
But she doesn’t expect people to remember her political legacy.
“I don’t want them to remember me. Individuals pass really, and they’re all part of a system. Time goes and you just disappear into it, you just hope some of the things you try to do will be carried on,” she said.
