Portsmouth North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Amanda Martin of the Labour Party since 2024.

Constituency profile

Portsmouth North is a constituency in Hampshire in South East England. It covers the northern half of Portsea Island and the mainland areas of the city of Portsmouth. This includes the neighbourhoods of Baffins, Copnor, Stamshaw, Hilsea, Paulsgrove, Wymering, Cosham, Drayton and Farlington.

Portsmouth is a port city with a maritime history. Its importance as a naval base and centre for shipbuilding made it the most heavily fortified city in the world in the early 19th century. Within this constituency, the neighbourhoods on Portsea Island (Baffins, Copnor, Stamshaw and Hilsea) mostly feature dense Edwardian and interwar terraced housing, whilst the mainland suburbs were developed more recently as the city expanded. The neighbourhoods in the west like Stamshaw and Paulsgrove, the latter of which was built as a large council estate, are highly-deprived. The north-eastern suburbs of Drayton and Farlington are affluent in comparison, giving the constituency an average level of wealth overall. House prices across the constituency are generally lower than the UK average and considerably lower than the regional average.

Portsmouth North has a similar age profile to the rest of the country, although there are more middle-aged adults and a lower proportion of retirees. Residents' rates of income, homeownership and child poverty are in line with UK averages. They have below-average levels of education and a high proportion work in the health and manufacturing sectors. The percentage claiming unemployment benefits is similar to the country as a whole. White people made up 90% of residents at the 2021 census.

At the local city council, the neighbourhoods closer to the city centre are represented by Liberal Democrats, the wealthy north-eastern suburbs by Conservatives and the rest of the constituency by localists and Reform UK. Voters in Portsmouth North strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 64% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the UK-wide figure of 52%.

Boundaries and boundary changes As its name suggests, the constituency covers the northern portion of the city of Portsmouth in Hampshire.

DatesLocal authorityMapsWards1918–1950County Borough of PortsmouthCharles Dickens, Mile End, North End, and Portsea.1974–1983County Borough of PortsmouthCosham, Farlington, Meredith, Nelson, North End, Paulsgrove, Portsea, and St Mary and Guildhall.1983–1997City of PortsmouthBorough of HavantCity of Portsmouth wards of Copnor, Cosham, Drayton and Farlington, Hilsea, Nelson, and Paulsgrove, and the Borough of Havant wards of Purbrook and Stakes.1997–2010City of PortsmouthCopnor, Cosham, Drayton and Farlington, Hilsea, Nelson, and Paulsgrove.2010–presentBaffins, Copnor, Cosham, Drayton and Farlington, Hilsea, Nelson, and Paulsgrove.

1918–1950 The constituency was formed from splitting the existing of constituency Portsmouth

Abolition After the First periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the Cosham and Meredith ward forming part of the new constituency of Portsmouth Langstone, while the rest formed the new constituency of Portsmouth West.

1974–1983 The constituency was reformed from the abolished constituencies of Portsmouth West and Portsmouth Langstone

1983–1997 Portsea, and St Mary and Guildhall wards were transferred to Portsmouth South with Purbrook and Stakes transferred from the abolished constituency of Havant and Waterloo.

1997–2010 Purbrook and Stakes were transferred to Havant

2010–present Ward boundary changes and renaming

The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies left the boundaries unchanged.

History The constituency was created in 1918 when the two-seat Portsmouth constituency was split into three divisions: Central, North and South.

It was abolished for the 1950 general election and largely replaced by a new Portsmouth West constituency as the axis of division changed, but was re-established for the February 1974 general election.

Members of Parliament MPs 1918–1950 Portsmouth prior to 1918

ElectionMemberPartyNotes 1918 Sir Bertram Falle, Bt. Conservative Member for Portsmouth (1910–1918) 1934 by-election Admiral Sir Roger Keyes Conservative Elevated to the peerage as Baron Keyes in January 1943 1943 by-election Admiral Sir William James Conservative 1945 Donald Bruce Labour Contested Portsmouth West following redistribution1950 constituency abolished: see Portsmouth West and Portsmouth Langstone

MPs since 1974 Portsmouth West and Portsmouth Langstone prior to 1974

ElectionMemberPartyNotes Feb 1974 Frank Judd Labour Member for Portsmouth West (1966–1974) 1979 Peter Griffiths Conservative Member for Smethwick (1964–1966) 1997 Syd Rapson Labour 2005 Sarah McCarthy-Fry Labour Co-operative Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (2009–2010) 2010 Penny Mordaunt Conservative Secretary of State for International Development (2017–2019)Secretary of State for Defence (2019)Leader of the House of Commons (2022–2024) 2024 Amanda Martin Labour

Elections

Election in the 1910s

Yexley (real name, James Woods) was supported by the Lower-Deck Parliamentary Committee, and also the local Liberal association.

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1970s 1970 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 24,000 46.0 Labour 21,500 41.2 Liberal 6,700 12.8Turnout52,20071.3Electorate73,238

1979 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 30,139 51.4 Labour 23,229 39.6 Liberal 4,922 8.4 Others 381 0.6Turnout58,671Electorate

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

1992 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 25,368 50.7 Labour 16,610 33.2 Liberal Democrats 7,529 15.1 Green 511 1.0Turnout50,01876.2Electorate65,614

Elections in the 2000s

2005 notional result Party Vote % Labour 15,897 38.7 Conservative 15,564 37.9 Liberal Democrats 8,080 19.7 Others 1,563 3.8Turnout41,10459.7Electorate68,872

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2020s

See also Parliamentary constituencies in Hampshire Parliamentary constituencies in South East England

Notes

References

Sources

External links

Portsmouth North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Portsmouth North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Portsmouth North UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK