During this time Morgan was made the Conservative opposition spokesperson for Finance,[2] Following the passage of the Local Government Act 2000, a referendum was held in North Tyneside on whether to introduce a directly elected mayor.
[3] In the election that followed Morgan was the Conservative Party candidate and would go on to beat his Labour opponent and Deputy Leader of the council, Eddie Darke.
[6] The following day Morgan resigned as Mayor of North Tyneside saying he wanted to fight full time to clear his name over the child pornography and indecent assault allegations against him.
[9] In October 2004, after being cleared of all charges, Morgan expressed a desire to return to front-line politics one day, yet said he would concentrate on rebuilding his career first.
[10] Morgan became active in Party politics again in 2005 as the Campaign Manager for both Linda Arkley and the Conservative candidate for Tynemouth constituency in the 2005 General election.