Jeremy Hunt survives in Surrey by just 900 votes

Jeremy Hunt defied the polls to cling on to his seat, before driving back to 11 Downing Street with his wife to pack up their belongings.

In a gracious victory speech, Mr Hunt wished Rachel Reeves, his replacement as chancellor, well and described her and Sir Keir Starmer as “decent people”.

He said “some Conservatives will wonder if the scale of our crushing defeat is justified” but said the Party must now have “the courage and humanity to ask” itself why it lost – and, crucially, what it must now do to ”earn back” the support of the nation.

Mr Hunt, who won the seat by just 891 votes, said: “Across the country, tonight is a bitter pill to swallow for the Conservative Party.

“We have achieved much in government and the economy is transformed from where it was post-pandemic

“Some Conservatives will wonder whether the scale of our crushing defeat is really justified.

“But when you lose the trust of the electorate, all that matters is having the courage and humility to ask yourself why, so that you can earn it back again.”

Mr Hunt, 57, was facing the ignominy of defeat and had been widely predicted to become the first chancellor in history to lose his seat at a general election.

But at 4.35am on the floor of the counting hall, his Liberal Democrat rival Paul Follows conceded defeat with a shake of the hand that brought gasps from onlookers. The exit polls had given Mr Hunt only a 19 per cent chance of winning the Godalming and Ash constituency.

Mr Hunt, who has been an MP since 2005, gained 23,293 votes to Mr Follows’ 22,402.

Mr Hunt described the campaign as “gruelling” and promised his constituents he would “not let you down”. He said his victory was a “bitter pill to swallow”, given the scale of the Tory defeat. He thanked his wife Lucia, who he said “despite not being born in this country” had “turned out to be the most invaluable canvasser I know”.

His victory – despite the odds – will likely fuel a possible leadership campaign in the coming weeks. Mr Hunt, viewed as a moderate, will try to argue the party needs to shift to centrist ground and modernise, rather than lurch further to the right to capture Reform voters.