MICHAEL Portillo is a man who has reinvented himself and at a packed Mercure Hotel on Wednesday night he couldn’t have failed to entertain even his most ardent political opponents.

“Never”, one audience member told me, “Would I have imagined I would see Portillo speak and enjoy it.”

Portillo addressed his political downfall and infamous 1997 general election “Portillo moment” immediately and for the first 30 minutes it wasn’t clear whether we were watching a politician or stand-up comedian.

“I am among a number of former future Prime Ministers,” he said. “We have a club and look forward to welcoming Ed Miliband shortly.”

As a [former] high-ranking politician, his arrogance was expected but he also spoke with a refreshing honesty particularly during a question and answer session. It’s always interesting to hear someone argue a position with sincerity whether you agree with them or not.

He admitted life in Government was like “living in a bubble” and only realised the level of hate towards him after he left.

Despite his Spanish republican father’s left-wing views, he entered politics on the right, he said, because of Margaret Thatcher. I wonder had he had entered politics 20 years later if he would have looked Tony Blair’s way.

It wasn’t all politics. Portillo’s television career has gained him popularity even among people who loathed him in office.

Describing the Severn Valley Railway as the “complete heritage railway experience” and talking about his stay in Bewdley while filming for Great British Railway Journeys brought about the night’s biggest cheers.

He talked insightfully about making documentaries and telling the story of his father for a programme about Spanish railways.

His love for trains, however, made it slightly disappointing when he said rail companies “have really thought about their service to customers”. Maybe he rides different trains to me.

Whatever you think, or thought, about Michael Portillo, his wealth of experience, confidence in his opinion and making himself the butt of his own jokes as much as anyone else made Bewdley Festival’s Portillo Moment a thoroughly enjoyable one. WT