 In November 2003 Mordaunt was selected as Conservative candidate to contest Portsmouth North in the 2005 general election.She attained a 5.5% swing towards the Conservatives but lost to Labour candidate Sarah McCarthy-Fry by 1,139 votes.A critic of women-only shortlists, Mordaunt worked after the 2005 election as chief of staff for David Willetts' aborted leadership campaign.