2024 Portsmouth City Council election

2024 Portsmouth City Council election

←  2023 2 May 2024 (2024-05-02) 2026 →
14 out of 42 seats to Portsmouth City Council 22 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Steve Pitt George Madgwick Charlotte Gerada Party Liberal Democrats PIP Labour Seats before 18 6 8 Seats after 19 9 8 Seat change 1 3 Popular vote 12,492 9,578 11,556 Percentage 30.0% 23.0% 27.7% Swing 0.7% 6.8% 0.2%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Simon Bosher Party Conservative Independent Seats before 8 2 Seats after 4 2 Seat change 4 Popular vote 6,745 N/A Percentage 16.2% N/A Swing 3.4% 2.1%
Winner of each seat at the 2024 Portsmouth City Council election
Leader before election Steve Pitt Liberal Democrats No overall control Leader after election Steve Pitt Liberal Democrats No overall control

The 2024 Portsmouth City Council election took place on Thursday 2 May 2024, alongside the other local elections in the United Kingdom on the same day. 14 of the 42 members of Portsmouth City Council in Hampshire were elected.

The council remained under no overall control, being led by a Liberal Democrat minority administration. ^[1]

Background

Portsmouth was created as a unitary authority in 1997. Labour controlled the council from its creation until 2000, when the council fell into no overall control. ^[2] The Liberal Democrats first won the council in 2010, and held a majority until 2014. ^[3] The Conservatives ran the council as a minority administration, with support from UKIP, ^[4] until 2018, when the Liberal Democrats formed a minority administration which has governed Portsmouth since. ^[5] In the previous election, the Liberal Democrats won 7 seats (up 1) with 29.3% of the vote, Labour won 2 with 27.5%, the Conservatives won 1 (down 5) with 19.6%, the Portsmouth Independent Party won 3 (up 3) with 16.2%, and independents won 1 (up 1) with 2.1%.

The seats up for election in 2024 were last contested in 2021; because of the delay of all local elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seats are up for election after 3 years rather than the usual 4. In that election, the Conservatives gained 1 seat with 36.0% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats lost 2 with 26.6%, Labour held their 2 seats up for election with 28.0%, and independents gained 1 with 3.7%.

Previous council composition

After 2023 election			Before 2024 election [6]			After 2024 election
Party		Seats	Party		Seats	Party		Seats
	Liberal Democrats	18		Liberal Democrats	18		Liberal Democrats	19
	Conservative	8		Conservative	8		Conservative	4
	Labour	7		Labour	8		Labour	8
	PIP	6		PIP	6		PIP	9
	Independent	3		Independent	2		Independent	2

Changes:

• Judith Smyth readmitted to Labour ^[7]

Results summary

2024 Portsmouth City Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	7	1	50.0	12	19	45.2	12,492	30.0	0.7
	PIP	4	3	28.6	5	9	21.4	9,578	23.0	6.8
	Labour	2		14.3	6	8	19.0	11,556	27.7	0.2
	Conservative	1	4	7.1	3	4	9.5	6,745	16.2	3.4
	Independent	0		0.0	2	2	4.8	0	0.0	2.1
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	2,050	4.5	0.1
	Reform UK	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	423	1.0	0.4
	TUSC	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	197	0.5	0.4

Ward results

Comparisons for the purpose of determining a gain, hold or loss of a seat, and for all percentage changes, is to the last time these specific seats were up for election in 2021. An asterisk indicates the incumbent councillor. The results for each ward were: ^[8]

Incumbents are marked with an asterisk:*

Baffins

Baffins

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Darren Sanders*	1,595	50.4	3.3
	Conservative	Joseph Standen	539	17.0	11.9
	Labour	Mark Andrew Farwell	503	15.9	1.6
	PIP	Brannen Sime	310	9.8	N/A
	Green	Bob Simmonds	173	5.5	1.2
	TUSC	Rachel Rebecca Nolan	42	1.3	N/A
Majority			1056	33.4	15.2
Turnout			3162	28.4	4.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Central Southsea

Central Southsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charlotte Rachel Gerada*	1,780	48.7	6.4
	Liberal Democrats	Felix Totolici	1298	35.5	3.7
	Conservative	Alison Hoare	237	6.5	7.4
	Green	Dillon Alexander Jarman	208	5.7	1.1
	PIP	Paris-Jade Wilson	130	3.6	N/A
Majority			482	13.2	10.1
Turnout			3653	29.7	4.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Raj Ghosh	907	45.0	0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Renu Raj	368	18.3	4.8
	Conservative	Thomas Gosling	319	15.8	11.7
	PIP	Jaime Angela Custerson	240	11.9	N/A
	Green	Miles Plested	109	5.4	N/A
	TUSC	Chris Pickett	72	3.6	0.1
Majority			539	26.7	7.4
Turnout			2015	14.8	4.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Copnor

Copnor

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PIP	Lee Matthew Tindal	1,111	39.5	N/A
	Conservative	Lewis Mark David Gosling*	740	26.3	26.9
	Labour	Andy Butterworth	640	22.7	3.5
	Liberal Democrats	James Howitt	190	6.7	3.3
	Green	Tim Sheerman-Chase	135	4.8	5.8
Majority			371	13.2
Turnout			2816	29.0	2.6
	PIP gain from Conservative		Swing

Cosham

Cosham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PIP	Derek James North	1,149	37.8	N/A
	Labour	Amanda Martin	1009	33.2	2.0
	Conservative	Matthew Atkins*	641	21.1	26.2
	Liberal Democrats	Julie Ann Spurgeon	118	3.9	5.7
	Green	Josie McNally	100	3.3	N/A
	TUSC	Nikki Doyle	20	0.7	N/A
Majority			140	4.6
Turnout			3037	30.1	3.7
	PIP gain from Conservative		Swing

Drayton & Farlington

Drayton & Farlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Spencer Roy Gardner	1,389	37.8	30.6
	PIP	Benjamin Simon Portet	1267	34.5	N/A
	Labour	Ian Martin Ayres	695	18.9	0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Claire Udy	193	5.3	6.7
	Green	Paul Bleachy	130	3.5	N/A
Majority			122	3.3	45.5
Turnout			3674	35.1	3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Eastney & Craneswater

Eastney & Craneswater

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Leigh Dorrington	1,156	31.1	1.6
	Labour	Edward Batterbury	1017	27.4	1.4
	PIP	Jack Smith	725	19.5	N/A
	Conservative	Terry Henderson	604	16.3	21.5
	Green	Tamara Liloutee Barbara Groen	214	5.8	0.8
Majority			139	3.7
Turnout			3716	37.8	7.2
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Fratton

Fratton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Stuart William Brown*	824	31.7	3.5
	PIP	Jacob Lee Short	729	27.9	N/A
	Labour	Steph Richards	728	27.9	5.6
	Conservative	Tim Edwards	208	8.0	16.4
	Green	Samet Menguc Chering-Alves	111	4.3	1.0
Majority			95	3.8	1.7
Turnout			2600	24.6	3.0
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Hilsea

Hilsea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PIP	Matthew William Stringer Cordy	1,493	54.7	N/A
	Conservative	Charles Douglas	533	19.5	38.7
	Labour	Nicky Potts	461	16.9	9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Peter John Williams	148	5.4	3.4
	Green	Emma Louise Kimberley Murphy	95	3.5	3.7
Majority			960	35.2
Turnout			2730	27.0	2.7
	PIP gain from Conservative		Swing

Milton

Milton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kimberly Emma Barrett*	1,817	53.0	15.3
	Labour	Arif Hasan Choudhury	949	27.7	4.3
	Green	Sarah Louise Shilling Gilbert	231	6.7	0.6
	Conservative	Stephen Alexander Gorys	220	6.4	16.7
	Reform UK	Rachel Faith Zimmer	214	6.2	N/A
Majority			868	25.3	19.7
Turnout			3431	32.5	4.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Nelson

Nelson

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Richard James Adair	903	37.1	6.5
	PIP	Gary Richard Fyles	687	28.2	N/A
	Labour	Robin Stanley Head	505	20.7	1.0
	Conservative	Erin May Hunt	223	9.2	21.8
	Green	Duncan Stuart Robinson	99	4.1	1.7
	TUSC	Nick Doyle	19	0.8	N/A
Majority			216	8.9	3.7
Turnout			2436	23.8	0.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Paulsgrove

Paulsgrove

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	PIP	George David Madgwick*	1,561	63.7	N/A
	Conservative	Thomas Christopher Hoare	375	15.3	21.7
	Labour	Patrick Charles Keefe	358	14.6	3.0
	Green	Ian David McCulloch	84	3.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	James Campbell	72	2.9	0.4
Majority			1186	48.4
Turnout			2450	24.2	9.5
	PIP gain from Independent		Swing

St Jude

St Jude

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Hugh Laurence Mason*	1,266	40.5	4.9
	Labour	Joshua Anthony Allen	1,221	39.0	5.9
	Conservative	Lee Kewell	282	9.0	14.5
	Green	Harry Bernard Mallinder	184	5.9	1.9
	PIP	John Malcolm Hill	176	5.6	N/A
Majority			45	1.4	1.2
Turnout			3129	33.6	5.0
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

St Thomas

St Thomas

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Holder*	1,199	42.1	0.3
	Labour	Julian Thomas Lewis	783	27.5	4.9
	Conservative	David Michael Chandler	435	15.3	12.7
	Reform UK	Mark Zimmer	209	7.3	N/A
	Green	Elliot Lee	177	6.2	0.8
	TUSC	John Burrows	44	1.5	N/A
Majority			416	14.6	0.2
Turnout			2847	25.2	5.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

By-elections

Paulsgrove

Paulsgrove by-election: 23 October 2025

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Georgina Ayling
	Conservative	Thomas Hoare
	Labour	Sydna Phillips
	Liberal Democrats	Michelle Simmons
	Reform UK	Joe Standen

References

1. "Portsmouth election result". BBC News. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
2. "Portsmouth City Council Election Results 1996-2012" (PDF). Elections Centre. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
3. "Ex-council leader runs for Mike Hancock's Portsmouth seat". BBC News. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
4. "Conservatives continue running Portsmouth City Council". BBC News. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
5. "Lib Dem Gerald Vernon-Jackson wins Portsmouth council leadership". BBC News. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
6. "Your Councillors by Party". Portsmouth City Council. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
7. Wright, Josh (1 December 2022). "Portsmouth Labour councillor is suspended from party following complaint". The News. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
8. "Local council elections 2024". Portsmouth City Council. Retrieved 2024-05-07.