Penny Mordaunt: What Happened to the Former Defence Secretary

Ask most people what they remember about Penny Mordaunt, and the image that usually surfaces is a striking one: a politician in a teal dress, carrying a heavy ceremonial sword through Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King Charles III, a moment in May 2023 that made her a global talking point. Yet just over a year later, the same woman who held one of the most senior roles in British government lost her own constituency seat in a dramatic election-night upset, and this profile traces what actually happened, where her career began, and what she is doing with her time now that she is no longer an MP.

Full name: Penelope Mary Mordaunt ·
Born: 4 March 1973 (age 51) ·
Political party: Conservative ·
MP for Portsmouth North: 2010 – 2024 ·
Cabinet roles held: 4 ·
Current status: Former MP, global advisory work

Key facts about Penny Mordaunt’s background:

What happened to Penny Mordaunt?

At the 4 July 2024 general election, Mordaunt lost her Portsmouth North constituency to Labour’s Amanda Martin. The final count was tight: Martin took 14,495 votes to Mordaunt’s 13,715, a majority of just 780, or 1.9% of the vote. Her vote share fell to 33.0%, a drop of 28.4 percentage points from the 2019 result, when she won with 28,172 votes and a 61.4% share (UK Parliament constituency record).

Why did she leave the House of Commons?

• She ceased to be an MP when Parliament dissolved on 30 May 2024, ahead of the 4 July poll (GOV.UK ministerial record)
• She lost the seat itself on 4 July 2024
• She was not appointed to the House of Lords following her departure

Is Penny Mordaunt in the House of Lords?

No. As of the latest available records, Mordaunt has not been elevated to the upper chamber. Her official biography on GOV.UK lists her roles only up to 5 July 2024, when she left government alongside the rest of the Sunak administration.

What was her final role in government?

Her last positions were Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons, which she held from 6 September 2022 to 5 July 2024. In that role she was responsible for arranging government business in the Commons and, as Lord President, oversaw the formal machinery of the Privy Council — a role that put her at the centre of two major royal events: the Accession Council after the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III.

Is Penny Mordaunt still married?

No. Mordaunt was married to Paul Murray, but the couple divorced. The marriage lasted from 2013 until their separation, with the divorce finalised around 2020. Beyond that, Mordaunt has been consistently private about her personal life — she does not publicly discuss a current partner, and her official biography focuses entirely on her professional and charitable work.

Who is Penny Mordaunt’s ex-husband?

Paul Murray is a former naval officer and the son of a businessman who had worked in the shipping industry. The couple married in 2013 in Portsmouth. The marriage ended quietly, with no public acrimony or detail released at the time. Mordaunt’s biographers have noted that she considers her personal life a private matter and does not use it for political advantage.

Does Penny Mordaunt have children?

No. Mordaunt has no children from her marriage to Murray or any other relationship. Throughout her political career, she has been asked repeatedly about this — particularly as a female cabinet minister — and has consistently declined to frame her family status as a matter of public debate. She has, however, spoken warmly about her mother, who died in the 1990s, and her brother, James, who is disabled and has been a motivating force behind her work on disability rights and social care.

The pattern: Mordaunt’s personal life is one area where the public record is genuinely thin. For an otherwise heavily documented politician, the absence of detail is itself a fact — she has deliberately kept the boundary firm.

What is Penny Mordaunt doing today?

Since leaving Parliament, Mordaunt has not disappeared from public life. Her personal website describes her current work as a “portfolio of global organisations, charitable and philanthropic initiatives,” alongside writing and public speaking. This is a marked shift from the day-to-day grind of Westminster politics, but it follows a pattern common among former senior ministers: advisory work, international engagement, and a book.

What is Penny Mordaunt’s post-parliamentary career?

• Global advisory work across a portfolio of organisations (Penny Mordaunt official website)
• Public speaking and commentary on defence, leadership, and international development
• Work on military pageantry and ceremonial traditions, drawing on her time as Lord President

Has she published a book?

Yes. In late 2025, Mordaunt published a book titled Pomp and Circumstance, examining the history, meaning, and modern role of military pageantry in the UK. The book draws on her role in the coronation — where she carried the Sword of State and presented the Jewelled Sword of Offering, a duty reportedly performed by a woman for the first time.

What this means: Mordaunt is doing what many former ministers do — converting government experience into a portfolio of advisory roles, writing, and paid speaking. The difference is that her “brand” is unusually distinctive: defence, national ceremony, and a reputation for personal loyalty that survived multiple leadership contests.

What has Penny Mordaunt done?

Mordaunt’s career is a study in steady upward progression followed by a high-profile plateau. Elected in 2010 as a first-time MP for Portsmouth North, she was a parliamentary private secretary and then a government whip before entering the ministerial ranks. Over 14 years in Parliament, she cycled through a series of “first woman” roles that made her a notable figure on the Conservative benches.

What cabinet positions has she held?

Mordaunt held the following cabinet positions:

What was her role as Secretary of State for International Development?

As International Development Secretary from November 2017 to May 2019, Mordaunt ran a major UK government department with a £13bn aid budget, serving during her tenure as a UK Governor at the World Bank. She focused on strengthening the link between development spending and UK strategic interests, and was known for being a direct, no-nonsense communicator in a department that often attracted quieter personalities.

How long was she an MP?

Fourteen years, from her first election in 2010 to the 2024 loss. That makes her one of the longer-serving Conservative MPs from the 2010 intake — but it also means her career ended before she reached the 20-year mark that often qualifies former MPs for the “veteran statesman” treatment in retirement.

The record shows a career of high-profile moments and narrow margins.

Is Penny Mordaunt left or right?

Within the Conservative Party, Mordaunt is most frequently described as a one-nation Conservative of the centre-right. Her record, however, contains a mix of positions that resist simple labelling. She backed Remain in the 2016 EU referendum, then campaigned loyally to deliver Brexit once it became government policy. She held the defence brief under two prime ministers and has been hawkish on NATO and defence spending — one of the clearest signals of her right-of-centre worldview on foreign policy.

What is Penny Mordaunt’s political ideology?

• Member of the Conservative Party and a supporter of the party’s 2019 election manifesto
• Described as a one-nation Conservative, with a strong emphasis on social mobility and public service
• In her personal life, she served 10 years as a Royal Navy Reservist, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Commander — a rarity in the Commons (Penny Mordaunt official website)

What religion is Penny Mordaunt?

Mordaunt is a practising Christian, raised as an Anglican. She has referenced her Christian faith in public statements, particularly in relation to matters of moral duty and service. Her faith drew attention during the 2022 Conservative leadership contest, when she spoke about it openly in several interviews.

Where does Penny Mordaunt stand on key issues?

On Brexit: she voted Remain but later stated that leaving the EU was an opportunity the UK should seize. On defence: she has consistently supported the UK’s nuclear deterrent, NATO spending targets, and the navy’s role in the Indo-Pacific. On social issues: she is seen as socially liberal — she supported same-sex marriage, has long championed veterans’ mental health, and was an early advocate for better legal protection for British troops against historic allegations.

Timeline

• 4 March 1973

  Born in Torquay, Devon (GOV.UK)

• 2010

  Elected MP for Portsmouth North (GOV.UK)

• 2017–2018

  Minister for Women and Equalities (GOV.UK)

• November 2017

  Secretary of State for International Development (GOV.UK)

• May 2019

  Appointed Secretary of State for Defence — the first woman to hold the office (GOV.UK)

• September 2022 – July 2024

  Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (GOV.UK)

• 4 July 2024

  Lost Portsmouth North seat in the general election (UK Parliament election results)

• 2025

  Transitioned to global advisory work and published Pomp and Circumstance (Penny Mordaunt official website)

The takeaway: her career followed a classic infantryman’s path — a long grind through junior roles, a burst of high command, then a sudden and somewhat arbitrary end. The 2024 defeat interrupted what might otherwise have been a decade more of senior ministerial service.

What’s confirmed, what’s still unclear

Quotes and context

Mordaunt was Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons from 6 September 2022 to 5 July 2024.

GOV.UK — official ministerial record

She presided over the Accession Council after the death of Queen Elizabeth II and participated in the coronation of King Charles III in her role as Lord President of the Council.

Penny Mordaunt official website — personal biography

Labour candidate Amanda Martin defeated Mordaunt by 14,495 votes to 13,715, a majority of 780.

UK Parliament — official election results

She was responsible for bearing the Sword of State and presenting the Jewelled Sword of Offering at the coronation, a duty reportedly performed by a woman for the first time.

The Portsmouth News — local election coverage

What unites these quotes is the gap between the formal record and the human story. The official documents tell you what Mordaunt did. They don’t tell you who she is — but the mixture of the Sword of State, the naval reserve, and the vanished parliamentary career paints a portrait of someone who was genuinely built for the ceremonial machinery of the state, and who lost it not through scandal but through the simple arithmetic of an election night.

Summary

Penny Mordaunt’s story is not one of failure, and it is not yet one of a comeback. She is a former cabinet minister who, at 51, has plenty of years left to shape her public narrative — but the path back into frontline politics is narrow. For the Conservative Party, the lesson is pointed: a politician who was among the public’s favourites, who outperformed every leadership rival in opinion polls, and who carried the national sword was still unable to survive the electoral catastrophe of 2024. For Mordaunt herself, the choice ahead is clear: she can build a significant second career as a global advisor and author — or she can wait for a party recovery that, as of today, shows no sign of arriving.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Penny Mordaunt: Biography, Career and Where She Is Now (2024)
• Penny Mordaunt: What Happened, Career & Life After 2024