City of Portsmouth

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Region: South East
Country: England

§ This page provides an overview of an officially designated city in the UK, bringing together various information to help you better understand this city.

Portsmouth was granted city status in 1926 and the dignity of Lord Mayor followed in 1928, with status confirmed in 1974; as the historic home of the Royal Navy dockyard the city has diversified into services, education and marine industries; it has operated as a unitary authority since 1997 and, in 2025, government consulted on a proposed Hampshire and the Solent Mayoral Combined County Authority, with the first mayoral election pencilled for 2026 subject to legislation and consent.

City Council Status

Portsmouth City Council is the unitary authority (since 1997) for the city; Portsmouth’s city status was granted in 1926.

Civic Honours: Lord Mayors & Lord Provost

Portsmouth gained a Lord Mayoralty by Letters Patent dated 10 July 1928 (following city status in 1926).

In the UK, city status and the dignity of Lord Mayor (or Lord Provost in Scotland) are separate honours, each granted by the monarch via letters patent. Of the 76 cities, 28 have a Lord Mayoralty and 4—Scotland’s four cities—have a Lord Provost; these titles don’t automatically follow from city status. A Lord Mayoralty exists in 24 cities in England, 2 in Wales, and 2 in Northern Ireland.

Only 24 cities in England have Lord Mayors: Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Canterbury, Chester, Coventry, Exeter, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, the City of London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, the City of Westminster, and York.

In the UK, a city is not defined by size or population but by formal status granted by the monarch, often through historical charters or, more recently, civic honours competitions. There are 76 officially recognised cities, some of which are relatively small compared to other urban areas. In contrast, local authority districts (361 in total) are administrative areas created for local government purposes and may include a mix of urban centres, suburbs, and rural communities. Within districts, there may be one or more towns, which generally refer to sizeable urban settlements but do not hold city status unless it has been formally granted. In practice, a city can exist within a district, and a district can cover multiple towns, showing the clear distinction between legal status, administrative boundaries, and everyday usage.

Cities in South East