Portillo Moment
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The Portillo moment was the declaration of the result for the Enfield Southgate constituency in the
1997 United Kingdom general election The 1997 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 1 May 1997. The governing Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party led by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister John Major was defeated in a Landslide victory, la ...
, at 3:01 a.m. on 2 May 1997. The Labour Party candidate,
Stephen Twigg Stephen Daniel Twigg (born 25 December 1966) is a British Labour Co-op politician who has served as the 8th Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association since August 2020. He served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Me ...
, defeated the sitting MP,
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
cabinet minister
Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo ( ; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Jou ...
. The result was perceived as a pivotal indication that the Conservatives would be voted out of office after 18 years and that Labour would win the election by a substantial majority. The late-night declaration of the result became the subject of the question "Were you still up for Portillo?", asking whether a person had remained awake until after 3am to see or hear the key general-election results. "Portillo moment" has become a metaphor for an indication of a sudden and significant change in political fortunes, particularly the
unseating Unseating is a political term which refers to a legislator who loses their seat in an election. A legislator who is unseated loses the right to sit in a legislative chamber. A landslide victory results in many legislators being unseated. Austral ...
of a leading MP (especially a cabinet minister) at a general election.


Background

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo ( ; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Jou ...
was first elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
to represent Enfield Southgate at a
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
in 1984. The constituency included largely suburban areas in the west of the
London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London boroughs, London borough in Greater London, England. The main communities in the borough are Edmonton, London, Edmonton, Enfield, London, Enfield, Southgate, London, Southgate and Palmers Green. Enfi ...
. Portillo retained the seat at the 1987 general election and won with a comfortable majority of 15,563 in the 1992 general election. By 1997 Portillo was
Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...
in the Conservative government. He had developed a reputation as one of the leading lights of the right wing of the Conservative Party and was considered a possible candidate to follow
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
as party leader following the 1997 general election. The Labour Party candidate,
Stephen Twigg Stephen Daniel Twigg (born 25 December 1966) is a British Labour Co-op politician who has served as the 8th Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association since August 2020. He served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Me ...
– 30 years old, openly gay and relatively unknown – was considered unlikely to be able to unseat Portillo even in the Labour-leaning national environment. They had previously met when Portillo addressed Twigg's school during the latter's schooldays. The Conservatives held a small majority in the House of Commons following the 1992 general election and remained in power for almost the maximum possible five years as their majority was gradually reduced at successive by-elections. Coming into the 1997 general election, Labour had held a substantial lead in the national polls for a considerable time, but Portillo's seat was still considered safe. However, a poll in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' newspaper the Sunday before the election showed that Portillo held a lead of only three percentage points. After the polls had closed but before the result was formally announced, Portillo was interviewed live by
Jeremy Paxman Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English former broadcaster, journalist and author, born in Yorkshire. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate ...
on
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...
. By that stage, exit poll results had been revealed and predicted a Labour landslide nationally, and Portillo was privately aware of his possible defeat, although this was unknown to the public, who right up to the result were still expecting Portillo to be the next Tory leader. Portillo dismissed the national exit poll but struggled to answer Paxman's question, "Are we seeing the end of the Conservative Party as a credible force in British politics?" At the local election headquarters, Portillo said, "Everyone around me, including the Labour workers, behaved towards me as though I'd been bereaved. They looked apologetic. I know I was a national figure of hate for Labour but you can only hate at a distance. The people in that room were Labour councillors that I'd worked with and liked. All evening, they treated me with courtesy and consideration." Twigg and the other candidates also knew the results shortly before the formal announcement. Twigg was shocked but determined to keep a neutral expression during the announcement to maintain viewers' excitement to the last moment. The result was read out, showing that Twigg had won 20,570 votes against Portillo's 19,137 and thus had been elected MP. Portillo remarked in later interviews that he had regarded his defeat as a blessing, since it eliminated him from the expected Tory leadership contest to replace John Major, and that he had no desire to lead a rump party, which would probably be in opposition for at least two more parliamentary cycles.


Aftermath

The result in Enfield Southgate represented a 17.4% swing to Labour. Nationally Labour won a landslide victory with a parliamentary majority of 179 seats. Other prominent Conservatives to lose their seats included Foreign Secretary
Malcolm Rifkind Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind (born 21 June 1946) is a British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and most recently as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2 ...
, Trade Secretary
Ian Lang Ian Bruce Lang, Baron Lang of Monkton, Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 27 June 1940) is a British Scottish Conservative Party, Conservative Party politician and Life Peer who served as the Member of Parliament (Uni ...
,
Chief Secretary to the Treasury The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a senior ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom and is the second most senior ministerial office in HM Treasury, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The office holder is always a full ...
William Waldegrave,
Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
Michael Forsyth and former ministers
Edwina Currie Edwina Currie (; born 13 October 1946) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician, serving as Conservative Party Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire from 1983 until 1997. She was a Junior Health Minister for two years, res ...
,
Norman Lamont Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, (born 8 May 1942) is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993. He was created a life peer i ...
,
David Mellor David John Mellor (born 12 March 1949) is a British broadcaster, barrister, and former politician. As a member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major as Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1990–1992) ...
and Neil Hamilton. Twigg retained his seat in the 2001 election but lost it to the Conservative
David Burrowes David John Barrington Burrowes (born 12 June 1969) is a British politician. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate from 2005 to 2017, and is the co-founder of the Conservative Christian Fellowship. He has been the ...
in the 2005 election. He returned to the House of Commons in the 2010 election as MP for the safe Labour seat of Liverpool West Derby, which he held until standing down at the 2019 election, having served a total of more than 17 years in
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, almost exactly the same as Portillo's combined service. After losing Enfield Southgate in 1997 Portillo returned to the House of Commons in 1999, winning the
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
for Kensington and Chelsea following the death of
Alan Clark Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (13 April 1928 – 5 September 1999) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), author and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Tr ...
. He served in the
Shadow Cabinet of William Hague The Shadow Cabinet appointed by Conservative Party leader William Hague was the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet from 1997 to 2001. Following his initial appointments in June 1997, Hague reshuffled the Shadow Cabinet five times before his re ...
as Deputy Leader and
Shadow Chancellor The shadow chancellor of the exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the chancellor of the exchequer. The title is given at the gift of the leader of the Opposition an ...
and stood as a candidate to become leader of the Conservative Party following the 2001 general election. He left the House of Commons at the 2005 general election.


Legacy

In his acceptance speech, Twigg announced "there is no such thing as a no-go area for the Labour Party". Portillo was widely praised for his magnanimous response in his concession speech. Earlier that night,
David Mellor David John Mellor (born 12 March 1949) is a British broadcaster, barrister, and former politician. As a member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major as Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1990–1992) ...
had lost his seat at
Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...
, and was seen in a televised argument with the
Referendum Party The Referendum Party was a Eurosceptic, single-issue party, single-issue political party that was active in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997. The party's sole objective was for a referendum to be held on the nature of the UK's membership ...
leader, Sir
James Goldsmith Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His controversial business and finance career led to ongoing clashes with British media, fr ...
. Portillo was determined to lose with as much dignity as he could muster.


Cultural impact

The public rejection of Portillo came to symbolise the loss of the election, and continues to be referred to as the "Portillo moment". Following the 1997 election, people asked each other "Were you up for Portillo?", a question echoed in the title of a book published by Brian Cathcart in October 1997, which recounts the story of the election night from the point when polls closed at 10pm on 1 May 1997, entitled "Were You Still Up for Portillo?" Portillo has joked that the moment was voted by
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
viewers, and by ''
Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Fiction * ''Observer'' (novel), a 2023 science fiction novel by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress * ''Observer'' (video game), a cyberpunk horr ...
'' readers, as "their third favourite moment of the 20th century", one place ahead of the execution of
President of Romania The president of Romania () is the head of state of Romania. The president is directly elected by a two-round system, and, following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, serves for five years. An individual may serve two ter ...
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...
. A Channel 4 list, compiled in 1999, put the Portillo moment third, behind the
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...
Moon landing and the release of
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
, and one place ahead of the
death of Diana, Princess of Wales During the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died from injuries sustained earlier that night in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz ...
.


Subsequent Portillo moments

The term has become a metaphor for an indication of a sudden and significant change in political fortunes – particularly when a prominent political figure loses an election unexpectedly. In 2006, it was feared that changes to the voting legislation, requiring verification of postal votes, could end the chance of a "Portillo moment" by delaying the declaration of results on election night, but this did not eventuate.


2005

Defeats in the 2005 election which were described as Portillo moments included: * Oona King, the incumbent Labour MP for
Bethnal Green and Bow Bethnal Green and Bow was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency in Greater London, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2010 until its abolition for the 2024 United Kingdom ...
, lost her seat in a shock defeat to former Labour MP
George Galloway George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer. He has been leader of the Workers Party of Britain since he founded it in 2019, and is a former leader of the Respect Party. Until 2003, he was a member ...
, after he ran for the
Respect Party The Respect Party was a left-wing to far-left socialist political party active in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and nineteen ...
on an
anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...
platform which attracted the support of local
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
in a backlash against the Labour government's
invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...
in 2003. *
David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002 and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 20 ...
, leader of the
Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...
and former First Minister of Northern Ireland, lost his Upper Bann seat to David Simpson of the
Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...
.


2015

The 2015 election saw the defeat of a number of sitting cabinet ministers, due to a collapse in the support of the Liberal Democrats. The party lost 49 of their 57 seats, amid anger over their coalition with the Conservatives and reneging on a pledge to abolish tuition fees. Their landslide defeat has been compared to the elections of 1945 and 1997. The following were described as Portillo moments: *
Vince Cable Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham (UK Parliament constituency), Twic ...
,
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills The secretary of state for business and trade (business secretary), is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central go ...
and later leader of the Liberal Democrats. *
Ed Davey Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, leader of the Liberal Democrat party since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State ...
,
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change The secretary of state for energy and climate change was a British Government cabinet position from 2008 to 2016. The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008 when then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown reshuffled his Cabi ...
and later leader of the Liberal Democrats. *
Danny Alexander Sir Daniel Grian Alexander (born 15 May 1972) is a British former politician who was Chief Secretary to the Treasury between 2010 and 2015. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey constituency ...
,
Chief Secretary to the Treasury The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a senior ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom and is the second most senior ministerial office in HM Treasury, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The office holder is always a full ...
and Liberal Democrat MP. *
Ed Balls Edward Michael Balls (born 25 February 1967) is a British former politician, broadcaster and economist. He served as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2010, and as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2011 to ...
, Labour shadow chancellor and former Secretary of State for Schools. The Conservatives had previously targeted his seat in 2010, but he had retained it.


2017

The 2017 election saw the defeat of several sitting junior ministers and also some senior figures in Scotland, with Labour making unexpected gains against the Conservatives in England while the
Scottish Conservatives The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Ki ...
made gains against the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
(SNP) in Scotland. Defeats from the election that were described as Portillo moments included: *
Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...
, former
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
and former leader of the Liberal Democrats, lost his Sheffield Hallam seat to
Jared O'Mara Jared Cain O'Mara (born 15 November 1981) is a British convicted fraudster and former Labour politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Hallam from 2017 to 2019. Elected at the 2017 general election for the Labour Party, O' ...
of the Labour Party. *
Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...
, former
First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland () is the head of government of Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the Executive (government), executive branch of the devolved government and is th ...
and former leader of the SNP, lost Gordon to the Scottish Conservatives, in what was described as the election's Portillo moment in Scotland. *
Angus Robertson Angus Struan Carolus Robertson (born 28 September 1969) is a Scottish politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture since 2021. Formerly Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 201 ...
, depute leader of the SNP and the party's leader in the House of Commons, lost
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
to future Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross. His defeat had also been described as Scotland's Portillo moment in the election, before it was overshadowed by the defeat of Salmond later in the night.


2019

*
Jo Swinson Joanne Kate Swinson (born 5 February 1980) is a former British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from July to December 2019. Swinson was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for East Dunbartonshire ( ...
, Liberal Democrat leader, lost her
East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders Glasgow City Council Area to the south, North Lanarkshire to the east, Stirling (council area), Stirling to the north, and West Dunbartonshire to the west. East ...
constituency to the SNP in
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
. *
Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist who served as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environmen ...
, environment minister, lost his seat to the Liberal Democrats. His loss came despite there being a landslide Conservative victory nationally.
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
granted him a peerage shortly after the election, which allowed him to continue in his role as environment minister despite losing his seat in parliament. The move was criticised by some as undemocratic.


2024

The 2024 general election was the first time since 1997 that Labour ousted a Conservative government, and was a landslide victory of a similar margin. Twelve cabinet ministers lost their seats, and a number of Conservative figures stood down before the election to avoid their own Portillo moments. It was the highest number of sitting ministers ever to be defeated in a single election. Defeats from that election that were also described as Portillo moments include the following: *
Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth da ...
, former Prime Minister, had a shock defeat in
South West Norfolk South West Norfolk is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 by Terr ...
. She lost to Labour's Terry Jermy on a record-breaking swing of 26 percent, which reversed a 26,000-vote majority. In the wake of her loss, the BBC has suggested that "Truss moment" may replace "Portillo moment" as the term for a sudden political defeat. It was also the first time in 90 years that a former prime minister had lost their seat (rather than stepping down). *
Jacob Rees-Mogg Sir Jacob William Rees-Mogg ( ; born 24 May 1969) is a British politician, broadcaster and member of the Conservative Party who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset from 2010 to 2024. He served as Leader of the House o ...
, former cabinet minister, lost North East Somerset and Hanham to Labour's
Dan Norris Dan Norris (born 28 January 1960) is a British politician who served as Mayor of the West of England from 2021 to 2025, and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset and Hanham since 2024, having represented Wansdyke, ...
. Greater Manchester mayor
Andy Burnham Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017 Greater Manchester mayoral election, 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Brown ministry, Cabinet as Chief Secretary to th ...
, a panellist for Sky News' coverage, called this a Portillo moment that came shortly after Labour reached the 326 seats needed for a majority. *
Penny Mordaunt Dame Penelope Mary "Penny" Mordaunt (; born 4 March 1973) is a British former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons from 2022 until 2024. She was the Memb ...
, leader of the Commons, lost her Portsmouth North seat on an 18% swing. She had been expected to enter the leadership contest after the election and had previously been seen as "the future of the Conservative Party". Her defeat ruled her out of the contest. *
Gillian Keegan Gillian Keegan (née Gibson; born 13 March 1968) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education from 2022 to 2024. She previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills from 2020 to ...
, the education secretary was one of the first ministers to be defeated on election night, in
Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...
on a massive swing of 31%, which had been a Conservative area for 100 years. The Liberal Democrats attributed her defeat to the sewage crisis, which was an issue for
Chichester Harbour Chichester Harbour is a large natural harbour in West Sussex and Hampshire. It is situated to the south-west of the city of Chichester and to the north of the Solent. The harbour and surrounding land has been designated as an Area of Outstand ...
. *
Mark Harper Mark James Harper, Baron Harper (born 26 February 1970) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet as Chief Whip of the House of Commons from 2015 to 2016 and as Secretary of State for Transport from 2022 to 2024. A member of the Cons ...
, the transport secretary, was defeated by Labour candidate Matt Bishop in
Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...
. Bishop had received an endorsement from the
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (commonly known as the RMT) is a British trade union covering the transport sector. Its current President is George Welch and its current General Secretary is Eddie Dempsey. The RMT ...
shortly before the election. The group had been specifically campaigning against Harper due to his failure to negotiate amid the ongoing
industrial action Industrial action (British English) or job action (American English) is a temporary show of dissatisfaction by employees—especially a strike or slowdown or working to rule—to protest against bad working conditions or low pay and to increas ...
. Harper had not spoken to the union since December 2022.


See also

* Electoral history of Michael Portillo * Enfield Southgate in the 1997 general election * South West Norfolk in the 2024 United Kingdom general election


References

{{1997 United Kingdom general election, state=collapsed British political phrases (1950–1999) History of the Conservative Party (UK) History of the Labour Party (UK) 1997 United Kingdom general election 1997 neologisms