Penny Mordaunt: Her 2024 Election Loss and Current Status

Full Name: Dame Penelope Mary Mordaunt ·
Born: 4 March 1973 (age 51) ·
Political Party: Conservative ·
MP for Portsmouth North: 2010 – 2024 ·
Last Government Role: Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (2022–2024) ·
Current Status: No longer an MP as of 30 May 2024

Ten facts, one pattern: a Westminster career measured in firsts, attached to a private life that stayed deliberately out of the headlines.

What has happened to Penny Mordaunt?

On 4 July 2024, Mordaunt arrived at the count in Portsmouth North as the Conservative incumbent and left as a former MP. The result in her constituency was part of a much larger pattern across the country that night.

Why did Penny Mordaunt lose her seat?

• Labour’s Amanda Martin took 14,495 votes to Mordaunt’s 13,715 — a majority of 780 (Portsmouth City Council (official election results)).
• Mordaunt’s vote share fell to 33% in 2024.
• Reform UK’s Mel Todd took 8,501 votes in the same constituency (The News, Portsmouth (regional reporting)).
• ITV’s local analysis put the swing to Labour at approximately 18.12% (ITV News Meridian (regional analysis)).

The scale of the collapse is easier to read in two numbers: Mordaunt entered the election with a majority of 15,780 and more than 28,000 votes from 2019, according to ITV News Meridian (regional analysis). Four years later she received 13,715 votes. In other words, the local “personal vote” was real, but it was nowhere near large enough to survive a national Conservative collapse, a Labour advance, and a Reform UK candidate taking 8,501 votes.

Where is Penny Mordaunt now?

• No new political role or public appointment has been announced.
• Her official website remains active, with no announcement of a next step.
• The leadership question that followed her career is, for now, moot: she has no seat.

She is no longer an MP, holds no ministerial office, and has made no public announcement about a comeback. Portsmouth North, the constituency she represented for 14 years, is now held by Labour’s Amanda Martin.

The pattern: a 15,780 majority became a 780-vote defeat, with Reform UK’s 8,501 votes as the backdrop. That arithmetic matters for the national party as much as for Mordaunt personally.

The implication: a 15,780 majority erased by a 780-vote margin — the arithmetic of the 2024 election redefined what was possible in a previously safe Conservative seat.

Is Penny Mordaunt still an MP?

No. Mordaunt ceased to be the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North on 30 May 2024, when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the 4 July general election (GOV.UK (official ministerial profile)).

When did Penny Mordaunt’s term end?

• 30 May 2024 — the date Parliament was dissolved, which ended her status as an MP.
• 4 July 2024 — the general election at which Amanda Martin won the seat for Labour.

The distinction matters. Mordaunt did not lose the seat on 30 May; she ceased to be an MP because Parliament itself had been dissolved. The seat was then contested on 4 July, when voters chose Martin over Mordaunt by 780 votes.

How long was she an MP?

First elected: 6 May 2010 · Ceased to be an MP: 30 May 2024 · Total service: 14 years

Mordaunt was first elected in 2010 and served continuously until 2024. What this means: 14 years in one constituency builds deep local roots, but it also builds a target — by 2024, the national Conservative disadvantage had become impossible to outrun locally.

What does Penny Mordaunt do?

Right now, she holds no public office. Her last government role ended on 5 July 2024, the day after the general election, when the new government was formed.

What was Penny Mordaunt’s last government role?

• Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons — a Cabinet role she held from 6 September 2022 to 5 July 2024 (GOV.UK (official ministerial profile)).
• Before that: Minister of State for the Armed Forces (2015), the first woman in the post, and later the first woman to serve as UK Defence Secretary (2019).

What jobs has she held previously?

• Secretary of State for International Development (2017), Minister for Women and Equalities (2018) and Minister of State at the Department for International Trade (2021) — the career record published on her official website (biography).
• Earlier roles moved through local government and the Royal Navy Reserve (see below).

Mordaunt also contested the Conservative leadership in 2019, when she was eliminated in the third round, and again in 2022. The leadership credentials, the Cabinet roles and the Commons stage made her one of the most recognised faces in the party — which is one reason her defeat stood out.

The pattern: Mordaunt climbed Whitehall’s ladder by taking posts others did not always want, then found that a seat was the one thing she could not keep.

Is Penny Mordaunt still married?

No. Mordaunt married Paul Murray in 1999; they separated in 2014 and later divorced. She has not remarried.

Who was Penny Mordaunt married to?

• Paul Murray. The couple married in 1999, separated in 2014 and later divorced — the personal record appears on her official biography.

Does Penny Mordaunt have any children?

Children: None · Remarried: No

Mordaunt has no children. The same biography that records her marriage records no children and no remarriage. Why it matters: the curiosity about her personal life has consistently outlasted the policy headlines — and it remains one of the most searched questions about her today.

How old is Penny Mordaunt?

Penny Mordaunt was born on 4 March 1973, which made her 51 at the time of the 2024 general election. Her height and stated religion appear in the same official biography.

What is Penny Mordaunt’s height?

Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)

At 5 ft 8 in, her height is a standard entry in the biographical record — listed alongside her age and religion on her official website.

What religion does Penny Mordaunt follow?

Religion: Christian (practising)

Mordaunt identifies as a practising Christian. Why it matters: these are the biographical details that keep turning up in search queries long after the political headlines fade — the markers of a public figure who became a personality in her own right.

Was Penny Mordaunt in the Royal Navy?

Yes. Mordaunt served in the Royal Navy Reserve, reaching the rank of Lieutenant, with roles in communication and recruitment (Penny Mordaunt official website (biography)).

What was her rank in the Royal Navy?

Service: Royal Navy Reserve · Rank: Lieutenant · Joined: 2005

She entered as a reservist in 2005, and her naval work centred on communication and recruitment rather than combat roles.

Did she serve in active duty?

• Not as a full-time regular — her service was as a reservist.
• Her duties were in communication and recruitment, according to her official biography.

The distinction matters for how her military record is read: Mordaunt was a trained reservist officer, not a career naval officer. Her later ministerial role as Minister of State for the Armed Forces meant she oversaw the institution she had once served part-time.

Timeline signal

A short timeline of the dates that define Mordaunt’s public life — from birth to the election that ended her Commons career.

• 4 March 1973 — Born in Torquay, Devon.
• 1999 — Married Paul Murray.
• 2005 — Joined the Royal Navy as a reservist.
• 6 May 2010 — Elected Conservative MP for Portsmouth North.
• 2014 — Separated from her husband.
• 2015 — Became Minister of State for the Armed Forces, the first woman in the post.
• 9 November 2017 — Appointed Secretary of State for International Development.
• 2019 — Became Defence Secretary, the first woman to hold the role.
• 2019 — Ran for Conservative leader; eliminated in the third round.
• 6 September 2022 — Appointed Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons.
• 30 May 2024 — Ceased to be an MP when Parliament was dissolved.
• 4 July 2024 — Lost Portsmouth North to Labour’s Amanda Martin (The News, Portsmouth (regional reporting)).
• 5 July 2024 — Government role officially ended.

The pattern: a steady climb interrupted by two leadership bids and one very short Defence tenure — then an abrupt stop. Every date before 2024 is a prelude to the date that ended it.

What the coverage said

“Penny Mordaunt loses Portsmouth North to Labour as Tory losses mount.”

— headline, ITV News Meridian (regional election coverage), July 2024

“Senior Conservative Penny Mordaunt loses parliamentary seat.”

— headline, Reuters (international wire), July 2024

The headlines capture the two sides of the story: local, for Portsmouth; national, for a party losing one of its best-known faces. Neither headline needed to say “Conservative collapse” — the name did the work.

None of this is a eulogy. Mordaunt left Parliament on 30 May 2024 and her government role ended on 5 July, but the skills that carried her from the Royal Navy Reserve to the Cabinet — communication, discipline, a talent for the visible moment — are not tied to a seat in the Commons. The question is where they land next. For the Conservative Party, the cost is concrete: a party rebuilding after a devastating general election defeat is doing it without one of its most recognised voices. For Mordaunt, the choice is clear: find a way back into politics from the outside, or build a second act that does not depend on Westminster at all.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Penny Mordaunt: From Cabinet Minister to Author & Advisor
• Penny Mordaunt: Biography, Career, and What She’s Doing Now