| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
|
The constituency of Enfield Southgate returned a memorable result in the United Kingdom 1997 general election, when the seat was unexpectedly lost by the incumbent, the Conservative's Michael Portillo, to Labour's Stephen Twigg.
The result came as a shock to many politicians and commentators, and came to symbolise the extent of the Labour landslide victory under the leadership of Tony Blair. [1]
There had been a poll in The Observer newspaper on the weekend before the election which showed that Portillo held only a three-point lead in his hitherto safe seat. [1] Portillo had been widely expected to contest the Conservative leadership after the General Election, which without a Commons seat he was unable to do. [2]
He had a memorable interview with Jeremy Paxman on the election night prior to the calling of his own seat. Paxman decisively opened the interview with the question "so Michael, are you going to miss the limo?" - a clear reference to the strong feeling going around on election night that he had lost his own seat although it was claimed that it was simply a reference to Portillo losing his role and privileges as Defence Secretary. Portillo was then stumped with the follow-up question of "are we seeing the end of the Conservative Party as a credible force in British politics?". He has since admitted that he knew he had lost his seat by the time of the interview: [1]
I saw that the exit poll was predicting a 160 seat majority for Labour. I thought, "when is Paxman going to ask me have I lost my seat?", because I deduced from that that I had. I then drove the car to my constituency and I knew I'd lost. But I also saw David Mellor. David Mellor had this really bad tempered spat with Jimmy Goldsmith [after the Putney election results had been announced]. I saw this and I thought if there's one thing I do when I lose, I'm going to lose with as much dignity as I can muster and not be like this David Mellor—Goldsmith thing. [3]
The election result was announced live on national television. Enfield Mayor Patrick Cunneen was the returning officer. [4] [5] The candidates lined up on the stage at the Picketts Lock Leisure Centre in Enfield, while Cunneen read out the results, starting with these candidates:
There was a brief ripple of laughter when Cunneen read out Portillo's given names – Michael Denzil Xavier [6] – and then quiet as he announced Portillo's vote – 19,137 (41.1%) – followed by some applause. After announcing the results for Alan Storkey (Christian Democrat) – 289 (0.6%) – and waiting for brief cheers from Storkey's supporters to subside, Cunneen announced Twigg's name and then his vote – 20,570 votes (44.2%) – triggering sustained loud celebrations from Labour supporters.
Portillo's defeat represented a 17.4% swing to Labour. Although Twigg retained the seat with an increased majority in 2001, it returned to the Conservative Party in 2005 with a swing of 8.7%. [7]
The 1997 loss, symbolising the loss of the election by the Conservative Party, has been referred to as "the Portillo moment", and in the cliché "Were you up for Portillo?" (i.e., "Were you awake/did you see Portillo's result announced on television?") [4] Portillo himself commented, thirteen years later, that as a consequence "My name is now synonymous with eating a bucketload of shit in public." [8]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Stephen Twigg | 20,570 | 44.2 | +18.0 | |
Conservative | Michael Portillo | 19,137 | 41.1 | -16.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Jeremy Browne | 4,966 | 10.7 | -3.8 | |
Referendum | Nicholas Luard | 1,342 | 2.9 | N/A | |
Christian Democrat | Alan Storkey | 289 | 0.6 | N/A | |
Mal - Voice of the People | Andrew Malakouna | 229 | 0.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,433 | 3.1 | |||
Turnout | 70.6 | ||||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +17.4 | |||
The 2001 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 7 June 2001, four years after the previous election on 1 May 1997, to elect 659 members to the House of Commons. The governing Labour Party was re-elected to serve a second term in government with another landslide victory with a 167 majority, returning 412 members of Parliament versus 418 from the 1997 general election, a net loss of six seats, though with a significantly lower turnout than before—59.4%, compared to 71.6% at the previous election. The number of votes Labour received fell by nearly three million. Tony Blair went on to become the only Labour Prime Minister to serve two consecutive full terms in office. As Labour retained almost all of their seats won in the 1997 landslide victory, the media dubbed the 2001 election "the quiet landslide".
The 1997 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 1 May 1997. The governing Conservative Party led by Prime Minister John Major was defeated in a landslide by the Labour Party led by Tony Blair, achieving a 179-seat majority.
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster and former Conservative Party politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as Great British Railway Journeys and Great Continental Railway Journeys. A former member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Enfield Southgate from 1984 to 1997 and Kensington and Chelsea from 1999 to 2005.
Stephen Twigg 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 for Enfield Southgate from 1997 to 2005, and for Liverpool West Derby from 2010 to 2019.
Enfield Southgate is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was created in 1950 as Southgate, and has been represented since 2017 by Bambos Charalambous, an independent who was formerly a member of the Labour Party.
Kensington and Chelsea was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom 1997–2010. It was one of the safest Conservative seats in the United Kingdom, and since its creation in 1997 became a prestigious seat, with MP Alan Clark, the former Defence Secretary Michael Portillo and the former Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind all holding the seat for the Conservatives. The seat was abolished for the 2010 election, when the 1974–1997 Kensington constituency was recreated and Chelsea formed a new constituency together with the southern part of the former Hammersmith and Fulham constituency, called the Chelsea and Fulham constituency.
Jeremy Richard Browne is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Taunton Deane from 2005 to 2015. He served as both Minister of State for Europe and the Americas and Minister of State for Crime Prevention.
The 2005 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 5 May 2005, to elect 646 members to the House of Commons. The governing Labour Party, led by Tony Blair, won its third consecutive victory, with Blair becoming the second Labour leader after Harold Wilson to form three majority governments. However, its majority fell to 66 seats; the majority it won four years earlier had been of 167 seats. This was the first time the Labour Party had won a third consecutive election, and as of 2024 remains the party's most recent general election victory.
The 1995 Conservative Party leadership election was initiated when the incumbent leader and prime minister, John Major, resigned on 22 June 1995, in order to face a leadership challenge from his critics within the party. On 4 July 1995, he was re-elected, beating the only other candidate, the former Secretary of State for Wales, John Redwood.
John Leslie Marshall is a British Conservative politician.
The 1984 Enfield Southgate by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 13 December 1984 for the House of Commons constituency of Enfield Southgate.
Alan Storkey is a British economist, sociologist and artist known for his writing, lectures, and work on transport and the arms trade.
The Portillo moment was the declaration of the result for the Enfield Southgate constituency in the 1997 general election, at around 3:10am on 2 May 1997. The Labour Party candidate Stephen Twigg defeated the sitting MP, Conservative cabinet minister Michael Portillo. 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.
This is the results breakdown of the 2005 general election.
The 2014 Enfield Council election took place on 22 May 2014 to elect members of Enfield London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party retained overall control of the council, increasing their majority over the Conservative party by five seats.
John Major formed the second Major ministry following the 1992 general election after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to begin a new administration. His government fell into minority status on 13 December 1996.
WARNING: This Wikipedia page has inaccuracies according to the House of Commons General Election 2005 report.
John Flack is a British Conservative Party politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England, having lost his seat to the Brexit Party in the 2019 EU Election. He is a supporter of Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave.
The 2022 Enfield London Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022, alongside local elections in the other London boroughs and elections to local authorities across the United Kingdom. All 63 members of Enfield London Borough Council were elected.
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.