Liberal Democrats

Gerald Vernon-Jackson

Portsmouth South

Gerald is the Leader of Portsmouth City Council (Liberal Democrat). He has led the city through turbulent times but also where the city made real progress.

He successfully worked to stop the last Labour Government pulling the Royal Navy out of Portsmouth, when this was threatened in 2008. He campaigned to keep the aircraft carrier programme from being scrapped by the current Government. This sees the new Queen Elizabeth class carriers based in Portsmouth and the future of the Navy in Portsmouth guaranteed for the next 40 years, securing thousands of jobs in the dockyard.

Gerald also pushed through a £1.6 million loan from the City Council to the Portsmouth Supporters Trust to enable them to buy Portsmouth Football Club and stop it going into liquidation.

After four years as Opposition Leader, Gerald was re-elected Leader of Portsmouth City Council in May 2018 and leads the Lib Dem Group of 17 city councillors, who are currently running a minority administration. 

Under Gerald Vernon-Jackson’s leadership the Liberal Democrats have run Portsmouth City Council for twelve years. They have invested £5 million to build new school classrooms for an extra 1,000 pupils. They started building council houses for the first time in a generation. They saved the Kings Theatre and the New Theatre Royal from closing down. Gerald also spearheaded the campaign to get a World War Two War Memorial finally built in Portsmouth to commemorate the 3,000 Portsmouth citizens who lost their lives in the war.
Gerald has been Vice Chair of the Local Government Association and now Chairs the Culture, Tourism and Sport Board there. Gerald is a Non Exec Director of Local Partnerships and in 2016 received a CBE to recognise his contribution to Portsmouth and Local Government. Gerald is Armed Forces Champion for Portsmouth.

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