Who are the parliamentary big beasts in danger of losing their seats?

Not since the Blair landslide in 1997 – with its “did you stay up for Portillo?” moment – has an election offered such a juicy prospect of seeing great political beasts felled by the people who employ them: the voters. Here are a half dozen to watch out for.

Boris Johnson, Uxbridge and South Ruislip

The prime minister holds this west London seat with a relatively small majority of 5,034. On the plus side, he is the prime minister, with all that means for the constituency getting some special attention from the very top.

On the minus side, he’s betrayed his promise to stop Heathrow expansion (and thus more noise for his constituents) and the voters look inclined to indulge in some tactical voting towards his Labour challenger, Ali Milani. Social trends in the seat may also help Labour to a major upset. Thus Boris Johnson could conceivably win a landslide as PM (and he would remain PM even without a seat) but be able to turn up to the Commons only as a visitor, barred from the chamber.

Dennis Skinner, Bolsover

At the remarkable age of 87, the Beast of Bolsover is doing his best to personally combat ageism. A long-term Eurosceptic himself, he could still be affected by strong Leave sentiment in his seat. Perhaps the Brexit Party will siphon off sufficient votes in this ex-mining seat to see the Tories come through the middle. Skinner’s majority of 5,288 in 2017 is about half where it was in 2015, and he is vulnerable to a 5 per cent swing to the Tories – far from unthinkable. When he was first elected in 1970, Skinner was 20,459 ahead of his Conservative challenger.

Nigel Dodds, Belfast North

The DUP’s leader at Westminster has only a slim lead over Sinn Fein. This time round the SDLP, Greens and Workers’ Party are not standing, and if enough of their voters opt for Sinn Fein that would see a major defeat for Arlene Foster’s group. Some 2,081 votes stand between Dodds and a P45.

John Redwood, Wokingham

The longstanding Eurosceptic won his seat for the eighth time in 2017 with more than half of the vote. An outside chance, then, for a headline-making event, but Wokingham voted 56.7 per cent for Remain in the 2016 referendum. In a very good year for the Lib Dems it might be snatched; but it isn’t quite turning out that way for Jo Swinson’s team.

Dominic Raab, Esher and Walton

The picture of prosperity, this should be any Tory’s seat for life. But Brexit changes everything, and, in this very pro-EU, Remain-inclined seat, Raab’s particular brand of Euroscepticism is not as popular as in some Labour seats in the north and midlands. The Lib Dems are putting up a spirited campaign to decapitate the foreign secretary, aided by the Remain alliance with the Greens. Constituency polling suggest it will be tight, though Raab has expressed quiet confidence about his prospects.

Iain Duncan Smith, Chingford and Woodford Green

Demographic change has turned what was the former Tory leader’s rock solid redoubt into a winnable marginal for Labour. The high-profile candidate may well benefit from the withdrawal of the Brexit Party in his favour, but Labour is in a strong position to overturn the 2,438 majority. Much has changed since Winston Churchill was MP here, up until the 1964 election. If two Tory leaders – IDS and Johnson – fall on one night, it will be something for the record books.