'People shouldn't worry about me' Penny Mordaunt reflects on time as MP after losing seat to Labour

• Penny Mordaunt speaks to ITV Meridian about her time as the MP for Portsmouth North.

Penny Mordaunt has reassured people they "shouldn't worry about me" after she lost her Portsmouth North seat to Labour in the 2024 General Election.

The former MP and Leader of the House of Commons was 700 votes behind Labour's Amanda Martin.

Mordaunt had a majority of 15,780 in 2019, when she received more than 28,000 votes, but a swing of 18.12% to Labour meant it wasn't enough this year, when she received just 13,715 votes.

The Reform UK candidate, Melvyn Todd, received 8,501 votes.

Speaking exclusively to ITV Meridian after the result was declared the former Minister said she was "filled with gratitude" for the opportunities she has had over the last 14 years.

"I want to say a big thank you to everyone in Portsmouth North for having me as their MP for so long and for all the things that we did together," she said.

"I think the place is a better place, life expectancy is up, we've got massive amounts of infrastructure investment, UAE at the QA opening this autumn and of course the Hilsea Lido will be restored to its former glory next summer.

"So I think that's great and we did it together and you can't be too miserable when you think of those sorts of things."

Ms Mordaunt said it's the "smaller things" that she will remember the most from her time n office.

"It's the individual battles you win for constituents," she added.

"Often when people come and see you they're at the the end of the road and if that means life-saving drugs for your toddler or those sorts of things that's a pretty big deal.

"I have an amazing team here and we've won a lot of cases for people and it's those sorts of things you remember most."

Elected in the Portsmouth North constituency in 2010, one of Penny Mordaunt's first claims to fame was an appearance on reality TV diving show Splash in 2014.

Ms Mordaunt – a former magician’s assistant – went viral for carrying two heavy swords at the King’s coronation, dressed in a custom-made teal outfit with a matching cape and headband with gold feather embroidery.

As Lord President of the Council, she was responsible for bearing the Sword of State and presenting the Jewelled Sword of Offering to Charles – the first time the duty had been carried out by a woman.

She was hailed as stealing the show, and later disclosed she did press-ups in preparation and practised with weighted replicas.

The Navy reservist became an MP in 2010 and was made the UK’s first female defence secretary in 2019, but was bumped from the role into more junior positions by Boris Johnson after 85 days in a reshuffle.

"There's many things that I want to still do and some of those things you can do without being an MP," Ms Mordaunt said.

"So I'll carry on serving Portsmouth and I'll think about the best way I can contribute to my country."

Asked where she thinks the Conservatives went wrong, Ms Mordaunt added: "I said in my speech that if we want to be the natural party of government we have to be focused and driven by the values of this country, and I think fundamentally the National Party became detached from that.

"But this country needs a strong opposition, so I would urge all colleagues who are back in Parliament, and new colleagues who are back in Parliament to really think about the lessons they can learn from this."

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