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Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo ( ; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as Great British Railway Journeys and Great Continental Railway Journeys. A former member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Enfield Southgate from 1984 to 1997 and Kensington and Chelsea from 1999 to 2005, holding a number of ministerial and Cabinet positions.
Portillo obtained a first-class degree in history from the University of Cambridge, having been a student at Peterhouse. He began his working life as a graduate trainee with the transport company Ocean Group plc, before joining the Conservative Research Department (CRD) in 1976. First elected to the House of Commons in a 1984 by-election, Portillo served as a junior minister under both Margaret Thatcher and John Major, before entering the Cabinet in 1992 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He was promoted to Secretary of State for Employment in 1994. A Thatcherite and a Eurosceptic, he was seen as a likely challenger to Major during the 1995 Conservative leadership election, but did not stand, and was subsequently promoted to Secretary of State for Defence. As Defence Secretary, he pressed for a course of "clear blue water": purist policies separating the Conservatives from the Labour Party.
Portillo unexpectedly lost the theretofore Safe seat Conservative Enfield Southgate seat at the 1997 general election. This led to the coining of the expression "Portillo moment". Returning to the Commons in the 1999 by-election in Kensington and Chelsea, Portillo rejoined the frontbench as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. Standing for the leadership of the party in 2001, he came in third place behind Iain Duncan Smith and Kenneth Clarke. He retired from the House of Commons and from active politics at the 2005 general election.
Since leaving politics, Portillo has pursued his media interests by presenting and participating in a wide range of television and radio programmes. Portillo's passion for steam trains led him to make the BBC documentary series Great British Railway Journeys, beginning in 2010, in which he travels the British railway networks, referring to various editions of Bradshaw's Guide. The success of the show led Portillo to present series about railway systems in other countries. In 2022 he began to present a political show Portillo for the British news channel GB News.
Portillo was registered as a Spanish citizen at the age of four, and in accordance with Spanish naming customs (which require a person to have two surnames) his Spanish passport names him as Miguel Portillo Blyth.BBC – Great Continental Railway Journeys, Season 2 Episode 6. Portillo mentions this whilst holding up both his British and his Spanish passports to the camera. Portillo's now well-known "love affair with trains" started when he was a youth. He owned a clockwork toy train, and envied friends who had electric ones. Additionally, his mother took him on 13-hour trips from London to Kirkcaldy aboard a Steam locomotive Sleeping car, the Starlight Special, to visit his British grandparents, and he had summer holidays on the Isle of Wight, where he "loved" the steam railway between Ryde and Ventnor.
In 1961, aged 8, Portillo appeared in a television advertisement for Ribena, a blackcurrant cordial drink. He was educated at Stanburn Primary School in Stanmore, Greater London, and Harrow County School for Boys and was awarded a scholarship to Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he studied history. While at school Portillo had supported the cause of the Labour Party;Gove (12995), p. 33. he attributed his embrace of conservatism at Cambridge to the influence of the right-wing Peterhouse historian Maurice Cowling.
In 1990, Portillo was appointed Minister of State for Local Government, in which post he argued in favour of the ultimately highly unpopular Community Charge system (popularly known as "the Poll Tax").Gove (1995), pp. 171–176. He demonstrated a consistently right-of-centre line (exemplified by his insistence, in a well-publicised speech, on placing "clear blue water" between the policies of the Conservatives and other partiesGove (1995), p. 286.) and was favoured by Norman Tebbit and Margaret Thatcher, who said of him "We expect great things of you, do not disappoint us".Gove (1995), p. 264. His rise continued under John Major; he was made a Cabinet Minister in 1992 as Chief Secretary to the TreasuryGove (1995), p. 219. and was admitted to the Privy Council the same year. "Privy Counsellors" , Privy Council website, accessed 18 October 2017. He subsequently became Secretary of State for Employment (1994–95),Gove (1995), p. 302. and then Secretary of State for Defence (1995–1997). "1995 - Mr. Major's Sixth Cabinet" in The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH website, accessed 18 October 2017.
As Defence Secretary, Portillo became the object of criticism when he invoked the motto of the SAS, "Who Dares, Wins", at a speech at the 1995 Conservative Party annual conference. In 1996 his ministry undertook the sale of the entire stock of Ministry of Defence (MoD) housing for military personnel to Annington Homes. His high profile led to constant attention from the media, including Private Eye, which mockingly referred to him as "Portable toilet". He was accused of vanity when Alexandra Palace was hired to celebrate his ten years in politics.
Some saw the Defence Secretary post as a reward for Portillo's cautious loyalty to Major during the 1995 leadership challenge of John Redwood, following Major's "back me or sack me" resignation as party leader. Many urged Portillo, the "darling of the right", to run against Major. He declined to enter the first round, but planned to challenge Major if the contest went to a second round. To this end, he set up a potential campaign headquarters, with banks of telephone lines. He later admitted that this had been an error: "I did not want to oppose Major, but neither did I want to close the possibility of entering a second ballot if it came to that." Portillo acknowledged that "ambiguity is unattractive" and his opponents within the party later used Portillo's apparent equivocation as an example of his indecisiveness; "I appeared happy to wound but afraid to strike: a dishonourable position."
He was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on election night, prior to the result being called in his own seat. Paxman opened the interview with the question "so Michael, are you going to miss the Limousine?"—a reference to the expectation that the Conservatives were headed for defeat and thus he would no longer be a Minister. Portillo was then asked "are we seeing the end of the Conservative Party as a credible force in British politics?". He has since revealed that, prior to the interview, he had already come to believe he had lost his seat:
Portillo's defeat represented a 17.4% swing to Labour. Symbolising the loss of the election by the Conservative Party, it has been referred to as "the Portillo moment", and in the cliché "Were you up for Portillo?" (i.e., "Were you awake/did you see Portillo's result announced on television?") In 2010, Portillo wrote: "I had hoped for something better than Were You Still Up for Portillo? Now I feel lucky to have been ejected. I discovered that there is life and livelihood outside Westminster."
On 1 February 2000, William Hague promoted Portillo to the Shadow cabinet as Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor. On 3 February, 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 declared that a future Conservative government would enhance the independence of the Bank of England and increase its accountability to Parliament, and that it would not repeal the minimum wage.
Portillo's supporters became known as "Portillistas".Portillista at en.wiktionary.org
In 2007 he was named by PinkNews as one of the most powerful LGBT+ figures in British politics.
Talking to Andrew Neil on This Week in May 2016, he gave his views on the effectiveness of David Cameron's government and its legislative plans as described in the Queen's speech: "After 23 years of careful thought about what they would like to do in power ... the answer is nothing", a description which The Guardian described as "elegant".
Portillo supported Brexit, though he also expressed the opinion that the 2016 Brexit referendum "absolutely does not fit with" the British system of parliamentary sovereignty, and that "parliament has the right to interpret" the result. Extract from This Week broadcast 8 March 2019 In a 2016 television discussion he said that "because of the catastrophic blunder committed by David Cameron, Nigel Farage deserves a place in history" because "he spooked the Prime Minister into holding a referendum that he then lost." He also condemned Theresa May's 2018 "Chequers plan" for exit negotiations as "the most dreadful betrayal, and if I had been a member of the Cabinet, I would have been one of the ones who would have quit over the weekend."
Portillo has featured in a number of television documentaries. including one in Spain: Great Railway Journeys: From Granada to Salamanca, for BBC Two (1999) and one about Richard Wagner. In 2006 he made a programme on Spanish wildlife for BBC Two's The Natural World series. For an episode of the 2003 BBC Two series My Week In The Real World, in which politicians stepped into the shoes of members of the public, Portillo took over, for one week, the life, family and income of a single mother living on benefits in Wallasey.
He chose to present Queen Elizabeth I for the BBC's series of Great Britons in 2002. "BBC TWO reveals the ten greatest Britons of all time". BBC Press Office. 19 October 2002. Accessed 20 October 2017. In 2005 he presented the lavish BBC documentary re-telling of the story of Lord Nelson, Nelson's Trafalgar (2005). Between 2002 and 2007, he presented a discussion series called Dinner with Portillo on BBC Four, in which political and social questions were explored by Portillo and his seven guests over a four-course meal. His guests included Bianca Jagger, Grayson Perry, Francis Wheen, Seymour Hersh, PD James, Shirley Williams, George Galloway, Benazir Bhutto and Germaine Greer. In 2007, he participated in the BBC television project The Verdict, serving, with other well known figures, as a jury member hearing a fictional rape case. He was elected as the jury's foreman. "BBC Two Winter/Spring 2007 Press release". 12 December 2006. BBC Press Office. Accessed 20 October 2017.
The documentary How To Kill a Human Being in the Horizon series featured Portillo carrying out a survey of capital punishment methods (including undertaking some near death experiences himself), in an attempt to find an 'acceptable' form of capital punishment. It was broadcast on BBC Two on 15 January 2008. He made a second Horizon documentary, titled How Violent Are You?, broadcast on 12 May 2009. In 2008, Portillo made a documentary as part of the BBC Headroom campaign, which explored mental health issues. Portillo's documentary Michael Portillo: Death of a School Friend explores how the suicide of Portillo's classmate Gary Findon affected Findon's parents, brother, music teachers, schoolteachers, classmates, and Portillo himself. The programme was originally broadcast on 7 November 2008.
In early 2016, Portillo began a new BBC travel documentary series Great American Railroad Journeys, which saw him travelling across the United States by rail. Other similar series followed: Great Indian Railway Journeys from 2018 and Great Alaskan and Canadian Railroad Journeys, which started airing in January 2019. A series Great Australian Railway Journeys began airing on BBC2 on 26 October 2019, with six journeys across Australia. This was followed by a series Great Asian Railway Journeys from 27 January 2020, and Great Coastal Railway Journeys (BBC2, JanuaryMay 2024).
In 2020, as part of his Great Continental Railway Journeys, in the episode "Salamanca to Canfranc", while in Salamanca, Portillo was given access to papers about his father held at the General Archive of the Spanish Civil War. Other television programmes presented by Portillo have included:
On 26 May 2022, Channel 5 commissioned The Pyrenees with Michael Portillo, a four-part series that premiered 23 August 2022. In early 2022, Portillo filled a guest spot on the GB News show, The Political Correction, after which he was invited to host his own weekend political show Portillo, which started airing on 2 October 2022. In late 2023, Portillo's Andalucia, a six-part travelogue series aired on Channel 5, with the channel going on to commission a series of 90 minute travelogues set around various European cities. The first three programmes were broadcast under the title Michael Portillo's Long Weekends from 19 April 2024, with Madrid, Prague and Milan being featured. From 17 August 2024, the next three programmes in the series were broadcast on Channel 5 under the titles Sicily with Michael Portillo, Lisbon with Michael Portillo, and Stockholm with Michael Portillo.
In September 2025, Portillo presented Michael Portillo's 200 Years of the Railways, a two-part series about the development of the modern British railways.
In June 2013, he presented a series of twelve 15-minute radio programmes (following the daily World at One news programme) on BBC Radio 4 called 1913 – the Year Before, about the state of Britain in the years preceding World War I, challenging the view that these years were optimistic and cheerful. On 7 May 2020, it was announced that Portillo would join the new digital station Times Radio, which launched in June 2020. He hosted a Friday evening programme on politics, culture and history.
In 2011, Portillo became chairman of a new arts endowment fund supported by the Arts Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Applicants could bid for grants of between £500,000 and £5m, which were to be matched funding from the private sector. The fund, which operated under the title "Catalyst: Endowments", made 31 awards over the two years 2012–13 totalling £36 million. Recipients included Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Mary Rose Trust, Lincoln Cathedral and the Severn Valley Railway. "Catalyst: Endowments" on Heritage Lottery Fund website, accessed 2 October 2017; "Catalyst: Endowment Annual Report 2015", University of Kent, 2015, p. 4 (on Heritage Lottery Fund website, accessed 2 October 2017).
Portillo is the British chairman of the Anglo-Spanish organisation Tertulias, which organises annual meetings between the two countries. He is also an Honorary Vice-President of Canning House, the Hispanic and Portugal Brazilian Council. He has a home in Carmona in Andalusia. Portillo has a strong interest in contemporary visual arts and is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Federation of British Artists, an educational arts charity. "The Right Honourable Michael Portillo to open the 2017 Exhibition", website of the Pastel Society, accessed 2 October 2017. In 2018, he accepted the role as President of the Friends of the Settle–Carlisle line following the death of the previous incumbent, Sir William McAlpine.
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