Watch: Steve Baker told live on air he has ‘1 per cent chance’ of winning seat

Steve Baker has been told live on air that he has only a 1 per cent chance of winning his seat.

The Northern Ireland minister has been the MP for Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, since 2010, but the exit poll has predicted that he will lose his seat.

Mr Baker was told by the BBC that his chances of holding on were near impossible, as he was sitting in the London studio as the exit poll emerged.

Reeta Chakrabarti told Mr Baker: “Steve, I’m sorry to be putting you up here on the screen like this but you know we are giving you a less than 1 per cent chance of hanging onto your seat.”

Mr Baker appeared to awkwardly chuckle as the camera panned back to him, before claiming that he thought his chances were “quite a bit better” than polls had suggested.

Asked if he thought he had lost, he said: “Well I came into this campaign knowing I was widely expected to lose, but I do think the dynamic in Wycombe is slightly different to what is generally expected in the polls, and I know how the constituency works.

“So I think my chances are quite a bit better, but I could have easily lost very heavily,” he added.

Earlier this week, Mr Baker appeared to state his plans to launch a Tory leadership bid in the aftermath of the election.

He told Sky News on Monday: “I wouldn’t rule it out. The reality is that my colleagues have sent for me before the referendum, after the referendum, during Covid and over net zero.

“And on all four occasions, I’ve led actual MPs to a great degree of success – and I wouldn’t mind the chance to do it again.”