General Election 2024: Penny Mordaunt concedes "democracy is never wrong" after losing Tory seat to Labour

The former Leader of the House of Commons was defeated by Labour’s Amanda Martin in a closely contested race. The Labour Party’s national landslide victory saw them not only gaining the Portsmouth North seat but also retaining their hold on Portsmouth South.

Mordaunt is among several senior Conservatives who lost their seats, including Grant Shapps and Jacob Rees-Mogg. Reflecting on the defeat, Mordaunt delivered a poignant speech: “You can speak all you like of security and freedom, but you can’t have either if you are afraid. Afraid about the cost of living or accessing health care, or whether the responsibility you shoulder will be recognised and rewarded. That fear steals the future, and it only makes the present matter. That is why we lost.”

Speaking to The News following the speech, Ms Mordaunt added: “It was always going to be a tough fight and I’ve never taken an election for granted. I’m grateful for the 14 years I’ve had as MP for the city. There’s a lot of warm feeling and ties that I still have to my electorate, and they know that. But the party has not been demonstrating the values of this city. The public here have good sense; democracy is never wrong.”

Mordaunt concluded with a message of commitment: “When I did run for leader, I said that leadership was less about the leader and more about the ship, and I’m still on board. I’ll do whatever I can that I think helps this country and carry on doing that.”

Amanda Martin won with a majority of 780 with 14,495 followed by Mordaunt with 13,715 votes, the turnout was 59.29 per cent. In the 2019 election, Mordaunt had secured a dominant majority, winning 61.4 per cent of the vote, while Amanda Martin followed with 27 per cent.