Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has admitted his Surrey seat could be won or lost by 1,500 votes or less as he faces a battle to political survival.
The Godalming and Ash parliamentary seat is a key target for the Liberal Democrats who are aiming to demolish the Conservative “blue wall” in southern England. If they are successful, a defeat for Mr Hunt could surpass the infamous “Portillo Moment” when the former defence secretary Michael Portillo was beaten in Enfield Southgate during New Labour’s landslide victory in 1997.
A YouGov poll has suggested that the Liberal Democrats are set to win this new seat from Mr Hunt at the general election. Mr Hunt’s majority in the 2019 general election was 8,817, but he thinks this could now be a much closer race this time around.
He told Bloomberg: “There’s all to play for. This seat is probably going to be won or lost by the Conservatives by 1,500 votes or fewer.”
No chancellor has ever lost their seat at a general election, making the battle for the seat one of the more compelling storylines at the general election.
Paul Fellows, a council leader campaigning on the NHS, is contending for the seat for the Liberal Democrats and previously ran for South West Surrey at the 2019 general election.
Mr Hunt added that despite the polling he will continue to fight for the seat and has not given any thought to what he would do in the future if he lost.
He told Bloomberg : “It’s bad feng shui to start planning the life you don’t want to have. I’m very committed to the fact this is a democracy. It doesn’t matter who you are – prime minister, chancellor, foreign secretary – you have to get out knocking on the doors.”
In order to boost his chances of retaining the seat, Mr Hunt has contributed £100k of his own money to the constituency party, official records show.
Mr Hunt’s pre-politics career as an entrepreneur saw him amass a vast personal fortune.
When it was put to him that it could be seen as unfair for a wealthy MP to bankroll their own association, while others cannot afford to do so, he told the broadcaster: “Well, look, this shows that I’m committed to the local area.
“It’s a free country. All these donations are disclosed.”
The reason for his contribution was “because I want to carry on serving the people of Godalming and Ash”, Mr Hunt added.
Electoral Commission records, first reported by the Guardian, show he has handed more than £105,200 to the Surrey Conservative association over the last five years.
Mr Hunt is not the only Tory big beast under threat at the general election.
The parlimentary seats held by defence secretary Grant Shapps, Penny Mordaunt, veterans minister Johnny Mercer and Brexiteer Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg could also change to opposing parties, according to polling. And former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, will be defending a razor thin majority of is just 1,262 in Chingford and Woodford Green.
