The 40-year-old architect, who is also a podcaster and former political candidate, said on Wednesday (8 April) that she would bring ‘campaigning energy and a strong voice to the profession’ were she to be elected.
Morton said: ‘The profession is at a turning point and needs to make a stronger case for itself. With the support of my practice, I feel it is the right moment to bring my experience in politics and architecture together to provide a loud and influential voice.’
Explaining why her practice and politics made her the best woman for the job, Morton said she could ‘get architects back in the room where decisions are made’.
She added that she would ensure ‘the profession shapes policy on housing, planning and growth’, rather than just responding to it.
‘I am different because I am a leader in both practice and politics,’ she said in her nomination statement. ‘I understand how decisions are made, how to influence them, and how to get things done.’
Morton is a member of the Labour Party and is running to be a councillor in the London Borough of Lewisham in next month’s local elections, standing in the Brockley ward. In 2019, she unsuccessfully ran as a parliamentary candidate for Labour in the general election.
Morton’s two-page nomination statement called for ‘design leadership in local authorities’ in the form of city and regional architects appointed under every mayor to shape long-term development – a cause Morton said she would champion if elected.
Other issues Morton promises to focus on include ‘defining the role of architects’ in the age of AI, ‘reform procurement to deliver quality, value and safety’, strengthen national and international collaboration, and push for the creation of a ‘National Construction Innovation Taskforce’.
If elected president, she said she would promote the value of architecture to government and public, and continue Williamson’s championing of the need to protect the function of architects.
But speaking to the AJ, Morton said it was ‘important the RIBA president is a practising architect’.
In December the institute’s current president, Chris Williamson, made headlines by resigning from the ARB , saying he wanted to draw attention to the ‘ineffectiveness’ of the current regulatory system.
Morton is also host of the Architects for Change podcast, which regularly interviews influential figures inside and outside the industry. ‘I have built a public voice for the profession across media, policy and campaigning,’ she said. ‘I know how to communicate clearly, confidently and with impact, from the public to policymakers.’
Morton became a director at housing and regeneration practice Bell Phillips in 2024. She is also a member of Architects Action 4 Affordable Housing.
Nominations to become president, and for other roles in the RIBA elections, opened on 1 April and close on 15 April. Voting opens on 15 June.