Portsmouth South covers the southern half of Portsmouth, including the city centre, historic dockyard areas and dense residential neighbourhoods on Portsea Island. The constituency has a strong maritime character, with Portsmouth Harbour, the Solent and naval facilities shaping much of its western and southern edge. Commercial, university and visitor districts sit alongside long-established residential communities. Major rail, road and ferry links converge in the area, connecting Portsmouth with the rest of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The seat is intensely urban and compact, focused on the historic and civic core of one of the south coast’s principal cities.
Election data comes from UK Parliament. Turnout percentage is calculated by Project Open Gov from Parliament's turnout and electorate figures.
People and place
A population and household snapshot for Portsmouth South, using validated House of Commons Library constituency datasets.
Estimated population110,803
EstimateMid-2024 estimate
Region / nationSouth East
Age profile
0 to 1718.4% · 20,427 people
18 to 2416.6% · 18,435 people
25 to 3416.8% · 18,622 people
35 to 4919.6% · 21,665 people
50 to 6415.4% · 17,046 people
65 and over13.2% · 14,608 people
Population figures are mid-2024 estimates from the House of Commons Library. Project Open Gov calculates the estimated population shown above by summing the six published age-band counts. View population source ↗
Home ownership and renting
Housing tenure shows how households in this constituency described their home at the most recent census.
45,419 householdsCensus 2021
Home owners41.9% · 19,045 households
Private renters36.4% · 16,541 households
Social renters20.4% · 9,283 households
Other tenure1.2% · 550 households
“Other tenure” combines shared ownership and households recorded as living rent free.
Housing-tenure figures come from the most recent census: 2021 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2022 in Scotland. View housing-tenure source ↗
Household composition
A broad view of household types in this constituency. Project Open Gov uses the four broad groups supplied by the Commons Library so the presentation remains consistent across the UK.
45,419 householdsCensus 2021
One-person households36.3% · 16,489 households
Families with dependent children24.4% · 11,075 households
Other single-family households28.3% · 12,850 households
Other household types11.0% · 5,005 households
Household-composition figures come from the Commons Library constituency dataset. The source uses census data and Project Open Gov displays its broad household groups rather than attempting to harmonise the detailed categories itself. View household-composition source ↗
Disability and day-to-day activities
The source records whether day-to-day activities are limited and uses separate person-level tables for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
107,870 people in the source baseCensus 2021Source comparison: England & Wales
Day-to-day activities limited a lot7.0% · 7,534 people
Day-to-day activities limited a little10.7% · 11,499 people
Not disabled under the Equality Act82.4% · 88,837 people
Comparison note: the workbook uses different source terminology across the UK: England & Wales uses “Disabled under the Equality Act”, while Scotland and Northern Ireland use “Disabled” / “Non-disabled”. Project Open Gov therefore preserves the source categories and does not present them as one single like-for-like UK legal definition.
Disability figures come from the Commons Library constituency workbook. This profile uses the person-level tables only; the workbook also contains separate household-level disability tables which are not used here. View disability source ↗
Petitions
Open UK Government and Parliament petitions that have reached at least 10,000 signatures nationally, ranked here by the number of signatures recorded in this constituency.
Petition signatures are not a poll and do not show what the constituency as a whole thinks. A person can also sign more than one petition.
Open petitionCloses 20 November 2026
Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks
Signatures in this constituency397
Signatures nationally134,343
Government response published · Debate scheduled for 16 November 2026
Signature counts come from the official UK Government and Parliament petitions data and may change while a petition remains open. Browse official petitions ↗
Funding and local projects
National Lottery grants awarded to organisations recorded in this parliamentary constituency since 4 July 2024.
The constituency is based on the recipient organisation recorded in the source data. The funded activity may sometimes take place across a wider area.
Grants recorded100
Total awarded£9,836,525
Most recent awards
National Lottery grantAwarded 17 June 2026
Untitled Project Grants Application
Art Up (Portsmouth) CIC
£95,000
Arts Council England · Arts
About this award
Untitled Project Grants Application - Combined arts - National Lottery Project Grants
National Lottery grantAwarded 11 June 2026
Storehouse 9: The Dockyard Story
Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust
£450,000
The National Lottery Heritage Fund · Heritage
About this award
This transformative partnership project, delivered by Portsmouth Historic Quarter and the Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust, will secure and share iconic built heritage and cherished local stories. We will restore and reimagine Storehouse 9, a Grade I listed Georgian naval storehouse, from an underused and at-risk asset into a hub for learning, activity and enterprise. We will interpret the Dockyard's own story for the first time, in a new free exhibition exploring the site as a vast co-ordinated machine and celebrating the lives at its heart. Our inclusive activity programme, rooted in site and city history, will invite local and visiting audiences to enjoy, connect with and take pride in our shared heritage. Our project creates new business, event and retail spaces, strengthening organisational resilience, diversifying income, and catalysing further growth. It unlocks ambitious sitewide development, drives wider economic opportunity, and strengthens links between site and city. This project's legacy is a more welcoming, diverse and resilient Dockyard, reconnected to its city and communities.
National Lottery grantAwarded 8 June 2026
Skills Development
Grant to individual
£12,995
Arts Council England · Arts
About this award
Skills Development - Not discipline specific - National Lottery Project Grants
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Mary Portsea, Portsmouth
£29,710
Arts Council England · Arts
About this award
Stretch - Visual arts - National Lottery Project Grants
95 more awards are available.
Source: DCMS National Lottery Grants Database. The figures shown cover awards from 4 July 2024 to 1 July 2026. View official grants data ↗
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