Portsmouth City Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. Until 1 April 1997 it was a non-metropolitan district.
Since the first election to the council in 1973 following the reforms of the Local Government Act 1972, political control of the council has been held by the following parties: [1]
Non-metropolitan district
| Election | Overall Control | Conservative | Labour | Alliance/Liberal Democrats | Independent | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Conservative | 28 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 48 | |
| 1976 | Conservative | 31 | 14 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1979 | Conservative | 31 | 14 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1983 | Conservative | 25 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 39 | |
| 1984 | Conservative | 25 | 11 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1986 | Conservative | 23 | 10 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 1987 | Conservative | 24 | 9 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 1988 | Conservative | 25 | 8 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 1990 | Conservative | 21 | 12 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 1991 | No overall control (Conservative administration) | 19 | 13 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1992 | No overall control (Conservative administration) | 17 | 14 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 1994 | No overall control (Labour administration) | 15 | 14 | 9 | 1 | ||
| 1995 | No overall control (Labour administration) | 11 | 18 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 1996 | Labour | 6 | 21 | 12 | 0 | ||
Unitary authority
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1997–2000 | |
| No overall control | 2000–2009 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2009–2014 [2] | |
| No overall control | 2014–present | |
The leaders of the council since 1994 have been: [3]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leo Madden | Labour | 1994 | 2000 | |
| Ian Gibson | Conservative | 2000 | 2001 | |
| Leo Madden | Labour | 2001 | 2002 | |
| Frank Worley | Conservative | 2002 | 2003 | |
| Phil Shaddock | Liberal Democrats | 2003 | 22 Jun 2004 | |
| Gerald Vernon-Jackson | Liberal Democrats | 22 Jun 2004 | 3 Jun 2014 | |
| Donna Jones | Conservative | 3 Jun 2014 | 15 May 2018 | |
| Gerald Vernon-Jackson | Liberal Democrats | 15 May 2018 | 16 May 2023 | |
| Steve Pitt | Liberal Democrats | 16 May 2023 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Stephen Wemyss | 2,148 | 50.9 | +4.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Patrict Whittle | 1,973 | 46.7 | +4.3 | |
| English Democrat | David Knight | 102 | 2.4 | +2.4 | |
| Majority | 175 | 4.2 | |||
| Turnout | 4,223 | 43.0 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | David Fuller | 1,196 | 58.6 | +2.6 | |
| Conservative | Gerry Oldfield | 496 | 24.3 | +1.3 | |
| Labour | Simon Payne | 144 | 7.1 | -5.4 | |
| English Democrat | David Knight | 131 | 6.4 | -2.1 | |
| Green | Sean Sanders | 56 | 2.7 | +2.7 | |
| Independent | Mark Austin | 17 | 0.8 | +0.8 | |
| Majority | 700 | 34.3 | +1.3 | ||
| Turnout | 2,040 | 20.7 | |||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Sarah Cook | 791 | 35.0 | +3.2 | |
| Conservative | Jim Fleming | 682 | 30.2 | +3.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Alex Naylor | 548 | 24.2 | -2.9 | |
| UKIP | Michelle Essery | 90 | 4.0 | +4.0 | |
| Green | Calum Kennedy | 78 | 3.5 | -2.9 | |
| English Democrat | Clive Percy | 71 | 3.1 | -4.4 | |
| Majority | 109 | 4.8 | |||
| Turnout | 2,260 | 22.4 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Andy Fraser | 1,835 | 55.8 | +38.4 | |
| Conservative | Jim Fleming | 904 | 27.5 | -18.6 | |
| Labour | Terry O'Brien | 349 | 10.6 | -8.2 | |
| English Democrat | David Knight | 117 | 3.6 | -13.6 | |
| UKIP | Michelle Essery | 57 | 1.7 | +1.7 | |
| Independent | Mark Austin | 28 | 0.9 | +0.9 | |
| Majority | 931 | 28.3 | |||
| Turnout | 3,290 | 33.9 | |||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
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