Are there any 'Portillo moments' to look forward to?

[missmousemouth]

Listening to 'The Rest is Politics', they predicted that Jacob Rees-Mogg was a possible Portillo moment in July. God I'd love that. Those of you who crunch numbers, are there any others?

There were no real Portillo moments were there? Just about all those who did lose were expected to lose. The surprises were Jeremy Hunt and Ian Duncan Smith managing to hang on.

But it's as the Tories said - vote Reform and get Labour. Very true in many seats.

Mordaunt mostly lost because Reform split the right-of-centre vote in Portsmouth North, not because Labour’s candidate Amanda Martin suddenly became particularly popular.

Still, nice to see Mordaunt return to whatever it is she does when she’s not schmoozing the Westminster tea rooms. Although now she’ll be shmoozing for a peerage.

The awful Caroline Nokes and Mark Francois won, I think I heard? Ugh.

And much tactical voting to oust the Tories brings us a whole charging herd of Lib Dem gender woo fanatics.

Mixed feelings today - but glad to wave fuckity bye to the Tories. They were exhausting and demoralising.

A lack of support then😀

I was there when one of the cabinet lost.

It was joyous.
Happy but knackered

Truss was a genuine Portillo moment. We knew the Tories would lose but, like Portillo, she had a particularly big majority and the modelling predicted that she'd survive.

Though I recall that Portillo was graceful in defeat, unlike Truss.

Truss seems completely unrepentant!

Truss was close! There was only about 600
votes between her and the Labour candidate.

Jonathon Asworth , I was sure he was going to get a cabinet job. Yet he lost his seat. That was surprising!

Also Tunbridge Wells went Lib Dem which is unheard of. Always been a very safe Tory seat.

Delusional and quite shameless in defeat. I agree this was the portillo moment, all the damage she did, hope we’ve seen the last of her in British politics.

Maria Miller seemed pretty fucked off and surprised at her count when the result became apparent.

I was surprised by that too but apparently he's one of four displaced by independents over the Gaza issue.

Democracy in action.

Hopefully they won't try an parachute him into another seat; remember Patrick Gordon-Walker.

If Truss wasn't a Portillo moment I don't know what is!

I've just gone back and had a look at the original Portillo moment. What a change from the politicians of today. A lovely speech from Stephen Twigg upon his victory with no gloating or showboating and thanking the other candidates for an honest campaign. Then a graceful speech from Portillo wishing Stephen Twigg and the new government success.

It certainly seemed a far more civilised way to behave.

I would say that I haven't watched any of the stuff this time around. Maybe they too have been largely gracious and polite but I am gathering that the ghastly Truss was not.

I would say that I haven't watched any of the stuff this time around. Maybe they too have been largely gracious and polite

They have @CarlaH . Most of the speeches have been warm and gracious. Proper grown-up stuff.

That's good to hear.

Yes to be fair I thought Sunak was very gracious in defeat

Sunak was gracious , but all out going PMs should to be polite and diplomatic. There’s nothing else they can do.

Apart from Boris Johnson’s !

You have the idiot Green Party to thank for Jeremy Hunt hanging on.

The local Greens decided not to field a candidate to give the very strong LibDem candidate a chance.

So the Green Central party parachuted some unknown in without discussion. That candidate took over 1000 votes - enough for Jeremy Hunt to scrape through.

I thought Sunak gracious in defeat. Contrast that with Truss's behaviour at her Count: as the MP defending her seat she turned up to the Count late and sidled onto the line of candidates at the end. She didn't bother to make a speech, shook one or two hands and scuttled off. She showed herself up badly IMO.

Watching Liz Truss I am now totally convinced she's a badly programmed robot.

You have the idiot Green Party to thank for Jeremy Hunt hanging on.

You could just as easily blame the 2748 who voted Labour - almost certain in the knowledge that Labour would form the next Government, so that their vote wasn't needed.

BTW as one who has been active in politics I had heard it strongly rumoured that Truss was likely going to lose her seat, so it wasn't quite the Portillo moment for me that it should have been.

Most pleasing for me was seeing Rees-Mogg getting the old heave ho.

There were no real Portillo moments were there? Just about all those who did lose were expected to lose.

Truss was my Portillo moment due to her complete lack of decorum.

She took an age to come to the count and her make up had been clearly plastered on.

Rees-Smug and the rest were well-mannered in comparison. They all looked unhappy to lose but weren't in shock.

Apparently not all returning officers allow losing candidates to make a speech.

It varies from area to area.

Robert Buckland’s speech was a good one - thanking his constituents, team and family for their support, wishing the incoming MP Heidi Alexander well … and laying into the shower of shites that took over the Conservatives for their mendacity.

I was v v pleased to see Gillian Keegan given the boot.

In 2019 Keegan got 35,000 votes and a 21,000 majority.

In 2024 Keegan turned this into a thumping loss - the Lib Dem candidate took almost half the vote, got more votes than Keegan and the equally unpleasant Reform candidate put together, and became the first non Tory MP for 100 years.