Post by peterl on Oct 26, 2021 21:29:24 GMT
Portsmouth is a coastal city of around 240,000 people and forms the eastern end of a built up area in central Hampshire. Portsmouth may have existed as a city since as early as 1180. The “world’s greatest naval port” in its day, Horatio Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory can still be seen as the city’s historic dockyard. The city remains a major base for the Royal Navy as well as important freight and passenger port to this day. Portsmouth was also the birthplace of writer Charles Dickins whose house is now open as a museum and engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The city is also home to both Anglican and Catholic cathedrals, a university, and the Spinnaker Tower – one of Britain’s tallest manmade structures.
Portsmouth City Council was a second tier district in Hampshire from 1973 until 1996 and has been a unitary authority since. The Conservatives ran the council on a majority basis from 1973 until 1991 and on a minority basis from 1991 until 1994. Labour were in charge as a minority from 1994 to 1996, as a majority administration at the start of the unitary authority from 1996 to 2000 and as a minority again from 2000 to 2002. The Conservatives took back the council as a minority from 2002 to 2004. In 2004, the Lib Dems took control of Portsmouth for the first time as a minority, achieving majority control in 2009. The Conservatives returned to power as a minority administration in 2014, losing out to a Lib Dem minority in 2018.
The Portsmouth North constituency was created for the 1918 general election, abolished in 1950 and recreated for the February 1974 election. For most of its history, Portsmouth North has returned Conservative MPs. However, Labour members have represented the seat from 1945-50, from February 1974 to 1979 and from 1997 to 2010. There have been five MPs since the seat’s 1974 resurrection, and Penny Mordaunt, a junior minister at the Department for International Trade, is the current member. The Liberal Democrats currently enjoy little support, though have crossed 20% of the vote as recently as 2010. UKIP managed 19.1% and third place in 2015 but have achieved nothing like this vote share either before or since. The highest Green percentage was 3.2% in 2015.
Portsmouth as a whole must be one of the most politically interesting places in the south of England. The council has alternated between all three major parties in the past few decades whilst the Portsmouth North seat alternates between Labour and Conservative. Lib Dem support is higher in Portsmouth South. Portsmouth North could be considered a bellwether seat, having voted for the party that won the general election nationally every election from October 1974 onwards. However, with a Tory majority of almost 16,000 in 2019, Labour will have to put in some effort to get the seat back.
2019 General Election Result
Penny Mordaunt Conservative 28,172 61.4% +6.6%
Amanda Martin Labour 12,392 27.0% −6.7%
Antonia Harrison Liberal Democrats 3,419 7.4% +1.9%
Lloyd Day Green Party 1,304 2.8% +1.1%
George Madgwick Independent 623 1.4% +1.4%
Portsmouth City Council was a second tier district in Hampshire from 1973 until 1996 and has been a unitary authority since. The Conservatives ran the council on a majority basis from 1973 until 1991 and on a minority basis from 1991 until 1994. Labour were in charge as a minority from 1994 to 1996, as a majority administration at the start of the unitary authority from 1996 to 2000 and as a minority again from 2000 to 2002. The Conservatives took back the council as a minority from 2002 to 2004. In 2004, the Lib Dems took control of Portsmouth for the first time as a minority, achieving majority control in 2009. The Conservatives returned to power as a minority administration in 2014, losing out to a Lib Dem minority in 2018.
The Portsmouth North constituency was created for the 1918 general election, abolished in 1950 and recreated for the February 1974 election. For most of its history, Portsmouth North has returned Conservative MPs. However, Labour members have represented the seat from 1945-50, from February 1974 to 1979 and from 1997 to 2010. There have been five MPs since the seat’s 1974 resurrection, and Penny Mordaunt, a junior minister at the Department for International Trade, is the current member. The Liberal Democrats currently enjoy little support, though have crossed 20% of the vote as recently as 2010. UKIP managed 19.1% and third place in 2015 but have achieved nothing like this vote share either before or since. The highest Green percentage was 3.2% in 2015.
Portsmouth as a whole must be one of the most politically interesting places in the south of England. The council has alternated between all three major parties in the past few decades whilst the Portsmouth North seat alternates between Labour and Conservative. Lib Dem support is higher in Portsmouth South. Portsmouth North could be considered a bellwether seat, having voted for the party that won the general election nationally every election from October 1974 onwards. However, with a Tory majority of almost 16,000 in 2019, Labour will have to put in some effort to get the seat back.
2019 General Election Result
Penny Mordaunt Conservative 28,172 61.4% +6.6%
Amanda Martin Labour 12,392 27.0% −6.7%
Antonia Harrison Liberal Democrats 3,419 7.4% +1.9%
Lloyd Day Green Party 1,304 2.8% +1.1%
George Madgwick Independent 623 1.4% +1.4%
