14 ‘Portillo moments’ to look out for on election night

At around 3am on election night in 1997, the Conservative leading-light Michael Portillo suffered at shock defeat when he was ousted from his seat in Enfield Southgate by Stephen Twigg. Ever since, the surprising departure of a high-profile politician on election night – and their disbelieving face as the result is declared – has been dubbed a ‘Portillo moment’. The unpredictable nature of this election, and the potential upending of traditional voter loyalties means there are unusually large number of potential ‘Portillo moments’ to watch out for this week, as Cabinet Ministers, Corbyn allies, and even party leaders are vulnerable to being spectacularly dethroned. Below are the high-flying candidates who could be booted from the Commons on Thursday night.

Expected time to declare: 3am

Jo Swinson Constituency: East Dunbartonshire The Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has talked a big game this general election campaign, even suggesting at the start of November that she might become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.