Politics in Enfield will, for many years, be remembered for a boyish smile and embarrassed puff of the cheeks as an astonished Stephen Twigg heard the returning officer in 1997 announce that he had snatched the seat of Enfield Southgate from the grasp of Michael Portillo.
This slaughter in suburbia came to symbolise the end of 18 years of Tory rule. A majority of 15,563 was vaporised on a swing of 17.4%. "Were you still up for Portillo?" became a catchphrase of the historic election night.
Attention focused on Portillo's downfall, but in the neighbouring leafy constituency of Enfield North - birthplace of Norman Tebbit - Joan Ryan achieved an equally astonishing 16% swing, dislodging the then energy minister, Tim Eggar.
In the poorer south and east of the borough, closer to inner city Haringey, Andrew Love completed Labour's clean sweep, taking Edmonton on a 15.6% swing. All three MPs held their seats in 2001, with Twigg even strengthening his grip. In retrospect, Labour's progress in a polarised area of great prosperity and deprivation, could have been foreseen. The Conservatives had run the council for 30 years up until 1994, but as deprivation grew with factory closures and demographic change, Labour took control.
The Liberal Democrats, uniquely for an outer London borough, have failed to take a seat, although recently claimed a defector, deselected by Labour to encourage younger faces from the ethnic minorities.
The third point of this triangle of political institutions in the area, the Greater London Authority, is represented by the energetic Nicky Gavron, elected in 2000 by the joint boroughs of Enfield and Haringey.
She is now deputy leader of the council, struggling to represent a polarised community: "We have cows in Enfield in the wealthy north and also the largest concentration of multiply deprived communities in Europe." Most local people probably relate most to the council, but hanker after still smaller, more local politi cal institutions. Local Liberal Democrat David Rebak complains: "Local government is no longer local. There is very little left for councils to do because we get hamstrung by edicts from the centre. Local people feel they have little influence over the local hospitals, let alone the police. It is little wonder turnout is so low."
Politicians from all sides concede that local people do not understand who is responsible for each public service. The council is trying to make itself accessible by setting up community forums, public meetings led by council officers. Attendance is patchy.
The council has also established a citizens' panel, a group of 1,000 residents selected to reflect the population in a bid to engage locals in the public life of their area. There are also plans for a youth assembly, community access centres, and a strategic partnership trying to bring together key agencies dedicated to regeneration.
Andrew Love admits a plethora of government schemes, such as Sure Start (helping parents of pre-school children), Excellence in Cities (improving the education of city children), neighbourhood renewal, or plans for an Education Action Zone can confuse local people.
"We have so many different Whitehall-driven initiatives which have all got different geographical boundaries. We talk a lot about joined up government, but it sometimes looks like so many dots on a radar screen."