Several Conservatives have had their own “Portillo” moments – the shock loss of their seats – in the General Election.
Conservative cabinet minister Michael Portillo lost what had been regarded as a safe Tory seat in Labour’s 1997 landslide, giving rise to the reference.
The exit poll for broadcasters suggested Labour was on course for 410 seats with the Tories reduced to 131.
A number of Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet and high-profile Tories have already lost their seats:
– Grant ShappsDefence Secretary Grant Shapps lost his seat as MP for Welwyn Hatfield to Labour’s Andrew Lewin.
Mr Shapps has held a series of Cabinet positions under four Tory prime ministers – including energy security and net zero secretary, business secretary and home secretary.
– Penny MordauntThe House of Commons Leader, Penny Mordaunt, lost her Portsmouth North seat to Labour’s Amanda Martin.
It was thought that Ms Mordaunt, who went viral for carrying two heavy swords at the King’s coronation, would run for the party leadership if she managed to hang on to her seat.
She had two failed bids under her belt, having lost to Liz Truss and then Mr Sunak. She became an MP in 2010 and was made the UK’s first female defence secretary in 2019 but was bumped from the role after 85 days in a reshuffle.
– Alex Chalk
Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor since 2023, became MP for Cheltenham in 2015, and had a notional majority in 2019 of 1,421.
He was unseated this time around by Liberal Democrat Max Wilkinson.
Mr Chalk spent 14 years as a barrister and specialised in counter-terrorism, homicide and serious fraud cases before he was elected as an MP.
The legal system has faced severe challenges under his watch – with a backlog of court cases, delays due to Covid-19 and industrial action by criminal defence barristers.
– Gillian Keegan
The Education Secretary since 2022 and MP for Chichester from 2017, Gillian Keegan lost her seat to Liberal Democrat candidate Jess Brown-Fuller.
Ms Keegan had pushed for banning smartphones in schools. She also oversaw draft statutory sex education guidance that “gender ideology” should not be taught in schools.
