Python\'s list type has an index() method that takes one parameter and returns the index of the first item in the list matching the parameter. For instance:
Inspired by this question, I found this quite elegant:
>>> tuple_list = [("pineapple", 5), ("cherry", 7), ("kumquat", 3), ("plum", 11)]
>>> next(i for i, t in enumerate(tuple_list) if t[1] == 7)
1
>>> next(i for i, t in enumerate(tuple_list) if t[0] == "kumquat")
2