Portsmouth Liberal Democrats

07/09/2026

VICTORY! The Government has BACKED DOWN on its monster council plans!

The Government has announced that it is withdrawing its Local Government Reorganisation decision in Hampshire. We’ve led the “Hands off Portsmouth!” campaign, demanding a stop to the Government merging the city into a vast new “monster council” that would have seen local residents’ services cut.

Back in 2024, the Government forced councils to put forward merger proposals. The option ministers chose for Hampshire would have forced Portsmouth into a “monster council” that would have a deficit of £67 million on day one.

This comes after Portsmouth and other councils issued legal challenges against the Government over the plans.

Steve Pitt, Lib Dem Leader of Portsmouth City Council said:

“We’ve won. The Government has finally had to listen to the people of Portsmouth and have stopped their unfair attempt to force us into a “monster council”.

“What they wanted to do was always wrong, but now they’ve finally sat up and listened. The Lib Dems and I have fought and fought and fought for this. I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve saved Portsmouth from disaster.

Charlie Murphy, Lib Dem MP candidate for Portsmouth South, said:

"I am relieved that the Government has backed down, but it should not have taken legal action to get here. 82% of people in our city said they did not want a new monster council. At that point, Government should have listened."

"The Lib Dem-led city council launched legal action against Labour's sh***un marriage for the city. It is a real shame our city's Labour MPs never spoke up for the Portsmouth about how reckless these plans were. Let's hope the plan never resurfaces."

05/09/2026

After weeks of hot, dry weather, it started raining on 21 August. Lib Dem Charlie Murphy said:

“I am furious. I was glad to see the rain on Friday, the first for weeks. But like many people, I also worried what this would mean for Southsea beach.

Sure enough, within an hour, Southern Water had started dumping sewage. The rain was brief and light, but they were dumping for almost two hours. Southern Water is failing us.”

Read Charlie's full reaction and his call to fix the industry at the article in the comments 👇

01/09/2026

We are saddened to hear of the loss of Alan Knight MBE, a Pompey legend.

Lib Dem leader of Portsmouth City Council Steve Pitt said:

"Alan wasn't just a Portsmouth Football Club legend; he was someone who gave so much back to the city he came to call home.

It was a real privilege to be part of honouring him with the Freedom of the City earlier this year, recognising not only his incredible achievements on the pitch, but also the difference he made to people's lives off it.

Alan faced his illness with remarkable courage and continued to inspire others through his charity work and efforts to raise awareness of prostate cancer. He will be greatly missed by Portsmouth and remembered with enormous affection.

My thoughts are with Alan's family, friends and everyone connected with Portsmouth Football Club at this difficult time."

Portsmouth Football Club are devastated to announce the passing of Alan Knight at the age of 65, surrounded by his close family.

The Pompey legend – who served the club as a goalkeeper, coach and ambassador – passed away this morning following a battle with prostate cancer.

He will be sadly missed by the Fratton faithful, teammates and all of us at the club who knew and loved him.

Rest in peace, Knightsie. 💙

🔗 portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/2026/september/01/alan-knight/

27/08/2026

Portsmouth Liberal Democrat councillors and members echo the Lord Mayor's message of condolences and sympathy with the friends and family of those involved in this tragic incident.

Portsmouth's Lord Mayor has written to the Mayor of Caen to express the city's heartfelt condolences.

Portsmouth Lord Mayor Cllr Abdul Kadir said:
"Our thoughts and prayers are with our twin city of Caen today, with those who lost their lives and were injured, and with their families and friends.

"Portsmouth and Caen share a close friendship forged over many decades, and at this difficult time we stand in solidarity with the people of Caen and offer our deepest condolences to all those affected."

Image by Vernon Nash.

20/07/2026

Welcome to Cllr Raj Ghosh, the newest Liberal Democrat councillor in Portsmouth!

Raj represents the areas of Buckland, Landport, Portsea, Somerstown and the City Centre (Charles Dickens ward).

Our local Lib Dem Leader, Cllr Steve Pitt said:

"I am delighted to welcome Cllr Raj Ghosh. Raj has been clear that he shares the Lib Dem team's passionate opposition to Local Government Reorganisation and feels aligned with our campaign which says 'Hands Off Portsmouth'."

"Raj believes, as do we, in always putting Portsmouth people first and we know he will be a great addition to our strong local team."

27/06/2026

Another improvement to Portsmouth's award-winning bus service.

This time its an X3 express bus service from Fareham to the Hard and South Parade Pier that First will launch July 23rd, cutting the journey time from 90mins to just 50mins.

The X3 will complement the also award-winning PR3 Park'n'Ride. Both help reduce congestion and ease parking pressures at the seafront whilst helping improve air quality.

Improvements like this have helped bus use in Portsmouth grow 53% in the last 3 years which in turn is part of the Lib Dem-run Council's ambitious and very practical plans to improve transport across the city and make it a nicer place to live, work or visit.

Let's keep Portsmouth moving forwards.

24/06/2026

It's a scorcher today!

Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Greening the City, Cllr Kimberly Barrett, has some tips on how to manage in the heat and what to look out for.

Check the link below 👇

22/06/2026

The British people are sick of this endless merry-go-round of Prime Ministers.

This can’t just be about changing who’s in No.10. It has to be about changing our broken politics.

20/06/2026

Very pleased the Campaign for Better Transport visited Portsmouth this week and found Portsmouth "inspirational" "with so much going on".

This included seeing 'living roof' bus stops being installed at Hilsea Lines, the award-winning Park & Ride and the recently introduced Pompey Link service (pictured below) that is expanding to Cosham.

Better bus stops, rental e-bikes & scooter schemes , EV charge points for cars, Shorepower for ships in docks, electric buses for city routes, new road crossings, accessibility improvements for pedestrians and wheelchair users, the list goes on.

This is what Portsmouth Lib Dems winning elections enables - ambitious, practical, 'green' change that makes the the city better.

03/06/2026

Statement from Martin Tod on riots in Southampton last night 👇