Background

Wendy Morton grew up on a farm in Yorkshire, studied at a local comprehensive school and later completed an MBA at the Open University. She began her career in the diplomatic service, working at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She went onto work in business, sales, and marketing, before setting up an electronics company with her husband, designing and manufacturing electronic goods for the agricultural industry.

Political Career

Elected as an MP in 2015, she quickly rose through the ministerial ranks, serving as Parliamentary Private Secretary to a range of departments between 2016 and 2018, including the Department for Education and the Department for International Development. She first joined the Whips Office in 2018, before serving brief stints as a Minister for Justice (2019-20), Minister for Foreign Affairs (2020-21) and Minister for Transport (2021-22). A close ally of the new Prime Minister Liz Truss, she was promoted to her current role of Chief Whip in September 2022.

View on portfolio

"Chief Whip is a notoriously low-profile role. Much of Morton’s work will be done behind the scenes, as she seeks to manage a highly fractured Conservative Party. As such, her views on the role are highly limited – though she does have relevant experience, given her stint as a Junior Whip in 2018.

Despite this, her success in the role will be vital to the new Prime Minister’s fortunes, both in the practicalities of chaperoning legislation through Parliament but also in terms of holding the Party together more broadly. Morton is widely liked across the party, which should help her when attempting to whip difficult votes."