Morkel was a member of the
Labour Party before he was elected a councillor for the NNP in
1996. He was formerly chairperson of the now-defunct Cape Metropolitan Council's executive committee. In 2000, he declined to run for the position of
unicity mayor ahead of the
municipal election. He announced this following the expulsion of Mayor
William Bantom. The ANC alleged that the dismissal of Bantom meant that Morkel stood to benefit due to his father serving as premier. Morkel denied this claim and was a councillor candidate for the newly created DA instead. Morkel held senior positions in the DA. He served as the party's provincial chairperson. He was also head of the party's caucus in the
City of Cape Town municipality. He was a DA representative in the
Western Cape Provincial Parliament. In June 2005, Morkel was accused of accepting bribes from the company Gilt Edged Management Services (Gems). Morkel defected to the ANC during the
September 2007 floor-crossing window period. Fellow DA MPP
Kobus Brynard also joined the ANC. The defections were announced at a press conference headed by ANC national chairperson
Mosiuoa Lekota. In February 2008, it became known that during Morkel's tenure as DA provincial chairperson, he allegedly offered a bribe to
Independent Democrats councillor Sheval Arendse for him to defect to the DA. The agreement between Arendse and Morkel was discussed before the
Erasmus Commission of Inquiry into allegations of spying in the Cape Town City Council. In April, Morkel denied that he had accepted a bribe from
Badih Chaaban. Morkel soon retired from politics. ==References==