The election is finally over, and the Conservative party are counting their losses. One of the biggest? Penny Mordaunt, who lost her Portsmouth North seat to Labour overnight. As predicted in the exit poll, Mordaunt was one of several senior Conservatives to lose their seat - but what next for the former Leader of the House of Commons, who famously played a prominent role in the King's Coronation last year?
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Responding to the announcement for the snap election on 4 July, Penny, who is also MP for Portsmouth North, said, 'Looking forward to the campaign ahead. As with every time I’ve stood, my local manifesto has been written by the people I represent: their vision and hopes for Portsmouth and the Nation. They are my inspiration.'
Has Penny Mordaunt lost her seat in the General Election?
In a word - yes. Mordaunt lost her seat to Labour's Amanda Martin who won by just over 1000 votes - this represents an 18% swing.
After losing to Martin, Mordaunt said to her, in her concession speech: 'You are now working for the the best employer ever - the people of Portsmouth are wonderful, hard-working, big-hearted and anything that I ever achieved was made possible by them.'
'I thank them for the opportunities they have given me.
'I will never stop caring for these people or this place.
'In all things I have been guided by them - their common sense, their determination, their hopes, their pride in our city and our nation.'
In the 2019 election she held the seat with a 15,000 majority - a big uplift on the 7000 majority she first won in 2010. This should make her seat a relatively safe one. However, one YouGov poll predict sthat Labour's Amanda Martin is poised to take the seat, winning 36.8% of the seat (versus 33.8% for Mordaunt). In fact, Mordaunt was the only cabinet minister absent at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's manifesto launch - she was given special dispensation to spend the day campaigning in her constituency. Porstmouth North is expected to be called at about 5AM on 5th July, along with fellow prominent Tory politicians, Iain Duncan Smith and Jeremy Hunt - all of whom have been identified by pollsters as at risk of losing their seat.
Whether Mordaunt remains MP for Portsmouth North or not remains to be seen, but how much do we really know about her? She's certainly lived a public life with many highs and lows, so allow us to indulge you in her standout moments on the public stage - and everything you need to know about her history as an MP, opinions and voting record...
She surprisingly played a huge role in the coronation
King Charles III’s coronation in May 2023 naturally attracted pretty impressive viewership figures, with more than 20 million tuning in to watch history unfold before their very eyes. And we can hedge our bets that many spent elements of the ceremony totally perplexed as to why Penny Mordaunt was all over the ceremony. From carrying a ceremonial sword, to walking ahead of the monarch at Westminster Abbey… it was a baffling for many to watch. So just why was she front and centre of the historic occasion?
Yet, surely a highly visible political career didn’t warrant this much responsibility in royal proceedings. So, let's dig deeper into what's going on. Penny is a Tory MP, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Privy Council. Because of her third role, which she's occupied since September 2022, she's heavily involved in royal proceedings and carried the 17th century Sword of State into Westminster Abbey as part of the coronation procession.
She was also involved in the presentation of the regalia during the investiture and crowning ceremony, where the Jewelled Sword of Offering was blessed by the Archbishop of Canterbury before Penny presented it to King Charles.
The sword was made for George IV’s coronation in 1821 and symbolises royal power and the monarch accepting his duties as a ruler.
Penny faced sexism in the summer leadership race
After the outrage that erupted when Angela Rayner was accused of a 'Basic Instinct ploy' in the Commons earlier this year, you would think political reporting would have learnt something about swerving misogyny. But, alas, this doesn't appear to be the case as, while other politicians were pictured in suits and coats alongside the discussion of their potential PM plans, Penny was pictured in a swimsuit. Sigh.
She is about as Brexit as it gets
Penny was at the forefront of the Leave campaign from day dot, positioning herself as a high-profile supporter of the group throughout the lead up and aftermath of the 2016 EU Referendum. 'You’d be wrong to interpret Brexit as protectionist, nationalist or selfish,' she said in a speech in 2018. 'Brexit was a noble and hopeful act. It was down to good British people, not bad boys.' Like Nigel Farage, presumably?
She got caught telling lies during the Leave campaign
Penny was infamously called out on the telly by David Cameron himself (back when he was still Prime Minister) when she claimed that the UK could not stop Turkey joining the EU. It was… absolutely wrong, and seen as a very underhand tactic to whip up fear among potential Leave voters. ‘Let me be clear,’ he clarified in a televised interview the following day. ‘Britain and every other country in the European Union has a veto on another country joining. That is a fact.
‘The fact that the Leave campaign are getting things as straightforward as this wrong, I think should call into question their whole judgement in making the bigger argument about leaving the EU.’
The debacle led to a very funny few days of #MordauntFacts on Twitter.
That’s not the only time Penny has embarrassed herself on TV
She also did a very painful looking belly-flop on ITV’s Splash. Let’s take another look at that.
Iconic.
And she’s been known to be game for a laugh in the Commons, too
She once lost a bet and subsequently had to say ‘cock’ six times during a speech in the House of Commons. Penny is a Royal Navy Reservist and was ‘fined for a misdemeanour’ at the end of course Mess Dinner in 2014 – this was her punishment. She fulfilled her end of the bet and subsequently won a Spectator Speech of the Year award for it. Though, as she admits, probably not for the content of the speech but because she ‘referred to male genitalia during the course of it’.
Penny lost her first shot at getting into politics
She failed to gain the seat of Portsmouth North in 2005, but eventually unseated Labour for the post five years later and has been an MP since then. Not only is Penny the first female Defence Secretary, but she also became the first ever Minister of State for the Armed Forces in May 2015.
Before her UK political career, she spent a time working for Diabetes UK, Kensington and Chelsea Council and the Freight Transport Association.
She also worked for George W. Bush during his presidential campaign. Simpler times.
Historically, she has voted against smoking bans and taxing the rich – and for military action
Penny's voting record shows that she is very pro-military force, having consistently voted for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas – including military action against ISIS.
More: she has voted against integration, against the right to remain for EU nationals already living in the UK, against raising welfare benefits to align with rising prices, for so-called bedroom tax, against higher benefits for those unable to work due to illness or disability, and against using public money to create guaranteed jobs for young people who have spent a long time unemployed. She voted in favour of stronger enforcement of immigration rules and mass surveillance of people’s communications and activities.
She voted against a banker’s bonus tax, against upped tax rates for those with income higher than £150,000 per year; she voted for reducing capital gains tax, too. Interesting that she almost always voted in support of increasing the rate of VAT, then.
Socially, Penny has supported equal gay rights and same-sex marriage. On climate change, she has generally voted against measures to prevent it, gave her support to sell off England’s state-owned forests and for culling badgers, for a high-speed rail infrastructure and to increase the price of rail travel more speedily.
But she supported a 2010 motion to make pubs and private members clubs exempt from the smoking ban when food is not being served. So swings and roundabouts, then.
What did Penny say in her leadership video?
Straight from the horse’s mouth, this is what Penny had to say to the reports and the public after she launched her campaign:
Who is Penny's husband? And does she have children?
Penny was in a long-term relationship with the classical singer Ian Lyon, who she bred Burmese cats with (apparently they had eight) at their home. The pair never had children and called it quits in 2016, reports have said.
Before Ian, she was married to Paul Murray who she met while reading philosophy at the University of Reading as a mature student in 1990. They tied the knot in 1999 and divorced a year later in 2000. It's not known if she's dating anyone now.
Who are Penny Mordaunt's family?
Penny has a twin brother called James; they were born in Devon and are now 44. She is the daughter of the former paratrooper, John Mordaunt, and has claimed she was named after then Arethusa-class cruiser HMS Penelope. Her mother Jennifer was the related to Philip Snowden, the first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer. Additionally, she is distantly related to the former Labour leader George Lansbury.
When she was 15, Penny's mother died and she became the primary care-giver to her younger brother Edward. The next year, her father was diagnosed with cancer but recovered.
How tall is Penny Mordaunt?
Penny Mordaunt is around 5'6.
Is Penny Mordaunt related to Terence Mordaunt?
Penny Mordaunt has said that she is not related to entrepreneur Terence Mordaunt, although they do have links. Penny has received £30,000 in donations from his company First Corporate Consultants, despite not sharing his views on climate change.
Why was everyone talking about about Penny and magic?
To pay her way through sixth form, Penny worked as a magician’s assistant to Will Ayling in Portsmouth (he was once the president of The Magic Circle) and took a gap year in Romania working at orphanages in the aftermath of their 1989 revolution, which is where she claims her interest in politics began.
And what’s next?
Only time will tell...