Portillo moment

The term Portillo moment refers to the dramatic declaration of the result for the Enfield Southgate constituency in the 1997 UK general election, at around 3:10am on 2 May 1997. The Labour candidate Stephen Twigg, then relatively unknown, 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 New Labour would win the election by a substantial majority.