Michael Portillo
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (born
26 May 1953) is a
British journalist, broadcaster, and former
Conservative politician.
He was born
Michael Denzil Portillo in
Bushey in
Hertfordshire, and took the name
Xavier at confirmation. His father was an exiled Spanish republican, Luis Gabriel Portillo, and his mother, the former Cora Blyth, is of Scottish extraction. An early brush with fame came when Portillo starred as a child in a television advertisement for
Ribena, a blackcurrant cordial drink. He was educated at Harrow County Grammar School and then won a scholarship to
Peterhouse, Cambridge where he came under the influence of
Maurice Cowling. He graduated in 1975 with a first-class degree in history, and after a brief stint with Ocean Transport and Trading Co., a freight firm, he joined the
Conservative Research Department in 1976. Following the Conservative victory in
1979 he became a government adviser. He left to work for
Kerr-McGee Oil from 1981–1983 and contested his first political seat in the
1983 general election standing in
Birmingham Perry Barr against
Jeff Rooker and losing badly. He returned to advisory work for the government and in 1984 he stood and won the Enfield Southgate by-election following the death of the incumbent, Sir
Anthony Berry, in the
IRA terrorist
bombing of the Grand Hotel in
Brighton, England.
Portillo retained the
Enfield Southgate seat until 1997. Initially he was a
Parliamentary Private Secretary to
John Moore and then an assistant
whip. In 1987 he was made under secretary for Social Security, in 1988 he was given his first
ministerial post as
Minister of State for Transport. He then held the
local government portfolio (1990), arguing in favour of the ultimately highly unpopular
Community Charge system (popularly known as Poll Tax). He demonstrated a consistently right of centre line (exemplified by his insistence, in a well-publicised speech, of placing 'clear blue water' between the policies of the Conservatives and other parties) and was favoured by
Norman Tebbit and
Margaret Thatcher. His rise continued under
John Major; he was made a Cabinet Minister as
Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1992) and subsequently held the portfolios of Employment (1994) and then Defence (1995-1997). His high profile led to constant attention from the media, including the magazine
Private Eye, which mocked him as
Portaloo.
The Defence job was seen by some as a reward for his cautious loyalty to Major during the leadership challenge of
John Redwood, following Major's 'back me or sack me' resignation as party leader in 1995. Portillo was urged by many to stand himself against Major, and some embarrassment was incurred when it transpired that a supporter had set up a potential campaign HQ with banks of telephone lines. Portillo's apparent equivocation at this time was later seized on by his opponents within the party as a mark of his indecisiveness.
As
Defence Secretary Portillo opposed the admission of homosexuals to the Armed Forces. He also invited criticism by invoking the
motto of the
SAS, "Who Dares, Wins", at a speech at the Conservative Party annual conference.
His loss in the
1997 general election to
Stephen Twigg came as a shock to many politicians and commentators, and came to symbolise the extent of the Conservatives' rout. Memorably he was interviewed by
Jeremy Paxman on the election night prior to the calling of his own seat and was stumped by the question of 'Are we seeing the end of the
Conservative Party as a credible force in British politics?' He renewed his attachment to Kerr McGee but also did substantial media work to maintain his profile including programmes for the
BBC and
Channel 4. He worked hard to reposition his reputation as more of a centre-right figure. In an interview with
The Times given in summer 1999, he admitted to youthful homosexual dalliances.
A few weeks after he had given this interview, the death of
Alan Clark gave Portillo the opportunity to return to Parliament in
a by-election in late November 1999 representing
Kensington and Chelsea, succeeding in this very safe Conservative seat. In
February 1 2000 William Hague promoted him to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chancellor. On
February 3 Portillo stood opposite the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
Gordon Brown, in the House of Commons for the first time in his new role. During this session, Portillo made two significant announcements:
The next Conservative Government will respect the independence of the Bank of England and will legislate to enhance that independence and increase accountability to Parliament.The next Conservative Government will not repeal the national minimum wage.Both of these policies were flagship policies of
New Labour and were opposed by large factions of the Conservative Party when introduced and indeed up until Portillo's announcement. Commentators suggested this was an example of Portillo taking the initiative in terms of Conservative Party policy and was the first step towards increasing acrimony between Hague and his shadow Chancellor.
Following the
2001 general election he contested the leadership of the party. In the first ballot of Conservative MPs, he led well. However this led to an onslaught of attacks from the right-wing press (notably the
Daily Telegraph and the
Daily Mail), including veiled (and not-so-veiled) references to his youthful gay experiences and to his equivocation at the time of Major's 1995 resignation. He was knocked out in the final round of voting by Conservative MPs, leaving party members to choose between
Iain Duncan Smith and
Kenneth Clarke. When Duncan Smith was elected leader Portillo returned to the backbenches. In 2003 he announced that he would not seek re-election and stepped down from the House of Commons at the
2005 general election.
In the wake of the election of
David Cameron as Conservative leader, many commentators have wondered if Portillo's legacy is visible in the image changes the party is undergoing.
Since 2003 Portillo has appeared in the
BBC weekly political discussion programme
This Week with
Andrew Neil and the Labour MP
Diane Abbott. Portillo has known Abbott for many years: they both attended schools in the
London Borough of Harrow, and Portillo once played
Macbeth opposite Abbott's
Lady Macbeth in a joint school production of the
Shakespeare classic. The chemistry between Portillo and Abbott has been credited with ensuring the programme's popularity.
Portillo has featured in a number of television documentaries, including one on
Richard Wagner (of whose music he is a notable fan), and two on Spain:
Great Railway Journeys: From Granada to Salamanca for Channel 4 (2002), and a programme on Spanish wildlife for
BBC Two's
The Natural World series (2006) - Portillo is a fluent Spanish speaker. He showed an unsuspected side of his nature when he took over for one week the life, family and income of a single mother living on benefits in
Wallasey (
When Michael Portillo became a Single Mum, (2003)). He chose to present
Queen Elizabeth I for the
BBC's series of
Great Britons in 2002.
Portillo writes a regular column for
The Sunday Times, contributes to other journals, (he was a theatre critic for the
New Statesman until May 2006), and is a regular radio broadcaster in the UK.
Until 2006 he was a non-executive director of
BAE Systems plc. He stepped down from that position in March 2006 owing to potential conflicts of interest. [
1]
Portillo married Carolyn Eadie in 1982; they have no children.
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Michael Portillo official site
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Guardian Unlimited Politics Ask Aristotle - Michael Portillo*
They Work For You - Michael Portillo*
The Public Whip - Michael Portillo voting record
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BBC News - Michael Portillo profile 8 March, 2005
*
The Knitting Circle-Parliamentarians*
Harrow County Grammar School
