County Hampshire Major settlements Portsmouth Type of constituency Borough constituency Major settlement Portsmouth | Electorate 71,798 (December 2010) Created 1974 (1974) Member of parliament Penny Mordaunt Number of members 1 | |
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Created from Portsmouth West and Portsmouth Langstone Replaced by Portsmouth, Portsmouth West, Portsmouth Langstone | ||
Portsmouth North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Penny Mordaunt, a Conservative.
Contents
Boundaries
1918-1950: The County Borough of Portsmouth wards of Charles Dickens, Mile End, North End, and Portsea.
1974-1983: The County Borough of Portsmouth wards of Cosham, Farlington, Meredith, Nelson, North End, Paulsgrove, Portsea, and St Mary and Guildhall.
1983-1997: The City of Portsmouth wards of Copnor, Cosham, Drayton and Farlington, Hilsea, Nelson, and Paulsgrove, and the Borough of Havant wards of Purbrook and Stakes.
1997-2010: The City of Portsmouth wards of Copnor, Cosham, Drayton and Farlington, Hilsea, Nelson, and Paulsgrove.
2010-present: The City of Portsmouth wards of Baffins, Copnor, Cosham, Drayton and Farlington, Hilsea, Nelson, and Paulsgrove.
As its name suggests, the constituency covers the northern portion of the city of Portsmouth in Hampshire.
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.
Constituency profile
This urban seat is of average affluence and incomes, with relatively low unemployment compared to the national average measured at the end of 2012 at 3.8% (claimant count) as opposed to 2.3% average across the region.
Taken together with Portsmouth West has a been one of the most long-standing bellwethers (of the national election winner), having that status since 1966.