Portillo moment

The Portillo moment was the declaration of the result for the Enfield Southgate constituency in the 1997 United Kingdom general election, at 3:01am 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.

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 when a leading MP (especially a cabinet minister) has been unseated at a general election.