Elliot Morley was born in Liverpool and became interested in nature conservation as a member of the Merseyside Naturalists Association and the Merseyside Ringing Group. He was elected MP for Glanford and Scunthorpe in 1987 and served as a shadow minister from 1989 to 1997. He was Parliamentary Secretary in MAFF from 1997 to 2003, responsible for animal welfare, water policy, flood defence, forestry, fisheries and agri-environment, Minister for Water, Nature Conservation, and Waste Management in DEFRA till 2006, and later Minister for Environment and Climate Change. He chaired the Parliamentary Select Committee for Energy and Climate Change from 2007–2010, was president of GLOBE (Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment) from 2007–2009, served as vice president of the BTO, and was on the council of the RSPB and honorary vice president of the RSPCA. Married with two children, his interests include birding, natural history, nature photography, scuba diving, and travel.