Meanings
plural Portillo moments
- UKgovernmentAn election loss for a prominent politician.
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?
2015 May 8, Dan Bloom, “Andrea Jenkyns ousts Ed Balls: Everything you need to know about Tory who defeated Labour giant”, in The Mirror2 more examples
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.
2013, Paddy Duffy, Did That Actually Happen?: A Journey Through Unbelievable Moments in Irish Politics, Hachette UK, →ISBNPossibly 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 7, Sebastian Payne, “Election night: the ten ‘Portillo moments’ to watch out for”, in The SpectatorSynonyms: decapitation, scalp, scalping
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn election loss for a prominent politician.
Origin
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.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Portillo moment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Portillo%20moment
“Portillo moment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Portillo%20moment. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Portillo moment,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Portillo%20moment.
Source: Portillo moment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.