History
The constituency was created in 1918 when the larger Portsmouth constituency was split into three divisions: Central, North and South. The Central constituency was abolished in 1950.
In the 2010 General Election campaign independent candidate Les Cummings distributed a leaflet claiming that incumbent MP Mike Hancock was a paedophile. This was later proved in court to be false. Cummings was subsequently convicted under the 1983 Representation of the People Act for distributing material which was known to be false with the intention of smearing or defaming to affect the return of a member of parilament. Cummings was fined £500.
Read more about this topic: Portsmouth South (UK Parliament Constituency)
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“The basic idea which runs right through modern history and modern liberalism is that the public has got to be marginalized. The general public are viewed as no more than ignorant and meddlesome outsiders, a bewildered herd.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“It may be well to remember that the highest level of moral aspiration recorded in history was reached by a few ancient Jews—Micah, Isaiah, and the rest—who took no count whatever of what might not happen to them after death. It is not obvious to me why the same point should not by and by be reached by the Gentiles.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)