Chancellor Hunt faces ‘knife edge’ battle to return to Parliament

Jeremy Hunt said his seat, which has a notional majority of more than 10,000, is ‘very marginal’.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

Jeremy Hunt said he faces a “knife edge” battle to win his seat in the face of a Liberal Democrat push to claim a high-profile scalp on July 4.

The Chancellor is standing in Godalming and Ash, a seat with a notional Conservative majority of more than 10,000.

But he said the newly-created Surrey seat was “very marginal”, while the Lib Dems view it as their opportunity for a “Portillo moment” on election night.

The Chancellor is facing a battle to win Godalming and Ash in Surrey, with the Liberal Democrats keen on taking a high-profile scalp.

Boundary changes mean Mr Hunt is standing in the newly created seat, which would have had a Conservative majority of 10,720 if it had been fought on those boundaries at the 2019 election.

In a reference to then-cabinet minister Michael Portillo’s election loss in 1997, Mr Hunt was asked whether he faced anew Portillo moment.

He told broadcasters: “This is a very marginal constituency. I’ve always treated it as a marginal constituency.

“I’m fighting for every vote. I think that I can win the seat. But I don’t take anything for granted.

“It is on a knife edge. And that’s what I’m knocking on doors for, six hours every day, meeting lots of people, making the arguments.”