"I was very optimistic about a new style of politics and its not there," Morris was quoted in the Independent as saying. "The two major parties have coalesced around a series of statements that they think define themselves. And they don't. There's too much about soundbites and headlines."
Morris was appointed Schools Minister by Blair in 1997, but stepped down from that post in 2002. She later returned to government in the more junior Arts Minister position. Morris will step down from Parliament at the next general election.