Martin Morgan is a former Northern Irish

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 politician for the Social Democratic and Labour Party

Social Democratic and Labour Party

The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...

 (SDLP).
Married to Dympna, a double graduate from the Queen's University of Belfast and a qualified Master's Level Social Worker, Morgan was a political activist from his teenage years onwards.

A former Vice-Chairperson of the SDLP party and Executive member. He was a councillor on Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...

 until 2005

Northern Ireland local elections, 2005

Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 5 May 2005 along with the 2005 general election across the entire United Kingdom and local elections in England.-Results:-Belfast:-Derry:...

. Morgan was the youngest Nationalist and Catholic to be elected Lord Mayor of Belfast. He stood for the party in the 2004 European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

 elections. He was the youngest ever Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 councillor when first elected.

He questioned, but abided by, SDLP support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland

Police Service of Northern Ireland

The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....

 (PSNI).
The PSNI was accused by Morgan and representatives of the local community of using heavy handed policing to force an Orange Order parade through the mainly Catholic Ardoyne

Ardoyne

Ardoyne is an Irish nationalist, working class and mainly Catholic district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during "The Troubles". It is home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants...

 area of North Belfast. Morgan left the SDLP after seeing out his third term of office.

He writes a weekly " Straight Talking" column in the Belfast newspaper North Belfast News

North Belfast News

The North Belfast News is a weekly newspaper published by the Belfast Media Group in Belfast, Northern Ireland....

.This column deals with current affairs, political and social responsibility matters, particularly but not exclusively in north Belfast.