Jeremy Hunt gives £100,000 of his own money to local Tory party to boost re-election chances

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Jeremy Hunt has donated greater than £100,000 of his own money to his constituency Conservative party as he goals to boost his chances of re-election.

Electoral fee information present the chancellor has given £105,261 to his local constituency party in Surrey over the previous 5 years amid issues that he could have to battle to retain his seat.

It comes as a brand new ballot by Survation revealed Mr Hunt may grow to be the primary chancellor in fashionable instances to lose his seat at a normal election, with his constituency of Godalming and Ash set to be taken by the Lib Dems.

His private donations to the South-west Surrey Conservative affiliation are greater than twenty instances what he gave beneath the management of Theresa May and David Cameron, when he donated lower than £4,500.

The most up-to-date accounts for Mr Hunt’s local affiliation have warned that its “balance sheet is at a less than satisfactory level” as donations to the affiliation fell by nearly 50 per cent in 2021.

A Labour supply instructed The Guardian: “This tells you everything you need to know about the state of the Conservative party, with the chancellor seemingly spending more time dishing out personal cheques to prolong his political career than fixing the economy his government has wrecked.”

Mr Hunt has maintained that he intends to keep as chancellor within the election and past.

At current, 58 Conservative MPs have introduced their intention to stand down on the subsequent election.

Many within the party are involved about their prospects on the subsequent election as an Ipsos survey ballot printed on Monday put the Conservatives 27-points behind Labour. If replicated at a normal election, this ballot would lead to the loss of 351 seats, leaving Rishi Sunak’s party because the third largest behind Labour and the Lib Dems.

In Mr Hunt’s own constituency, the Lib Dems are seemingly to take 35 per cent of the vote, with the Tories on 29 per cent and Labour on 22 per cent, the ballot forecast says.

When local voters had been requested about their priorities, 34 per cent of voters mentioned well being and the NHS, whereas 27 per cent mentioned the price of residing.

In comparability, simply 4 per cent of voters mentioned tax, a blow for Mr Hunt forward of his spring, the place the chancellor hopes to win again voters with tax cuts.

On tax cuts, practically 7 in 10 (67 per cent) of folks mentioned growing funding for public companies just like the NHS could be extra essential in figuring out their vote on the subsequent normal election.

Daisy Cooper, the deputy chief of the Liberal Democrats, mentioned: “It’s no wonder that Jeremy Hunt is on the brink of his losing his seat when people across Surrey are furious they can’t get GP appointments, that their hospitals have been left to crumble, and water firms are still allowed to pollute their rivers.

“In the chancellor’s own back yard, food bank demand is surging after his government failed to get a grip on the cost of living crisis. Liberal Democrats are fired up in Surrey to oust Conservative MPs who have taken people for granted.”