Portillo moment

English

Etymology

Originally referred to the 1997 United Kingdom general election in which Michael Portillo, a prominent Conservative representing what was thought to be a safe seat, unexpectedly lost to the Labour candidate.

Noun

Portillo moment (plural Portillo moments)

1. (UK politics) An election loss for a prominent politician.
   • 2013, Paddy Duffy, Did That Actually Happen?: A Journey Through Unbelievable Moments in Irish Politics, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

     But with FF seat losses by the dozen all over the country, the Portillo moments were stacked on several levels, like a good tin of biscuits.

   • 2015 May 7, Sebastian Payne, “Election night: the ten ‘Portillo moments’ to watch out for”, in The Spectator‎^[1]:

     Possibly the biggest Portillo moment north of the border, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury is also in danger of losing his seat according to the marginal polls.

   • 2015 May 8, Dan Bloom, “Andrea Jenkyns ousts Ed Balls: Everything you need to know about Tory who defeated Labour giant”, in The Mirror‎^[2]:

     It's the 2015 General Election's Portillo moment - but who is the Tory who's scalped shadow chancellor Ed Balls by just 422 votes?

Synonyms

• decapitation
• scalp, scalping