VETERANS of the 1997 election remember the shock fall of Michael Portillo. This time, several Conservative big-hitters are vulnerable with the Liberal Democrats targeting key bricks of the "Blue Wall" across southern England.
Top of the Lib-Dem hitlist for this year's "Portillo moment" is Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who in 2019 won a majority of 8,817 in South West Surrey. That would already be marginal given the state of the polls today and recent by-election results. But boundary changes mean that his new constituency of Godalming and Ash is very much in Opposition sights.
Lib-Dem leader Sir Ed Davey was planting his flag deep in enemy territory today with a visit to Cheltenham, where Justice Secretary Alex Chalk is defending a tiny majority of 981.
The party is even making a play at Surrey Heath, where Michael Gove won a majority of 18,349 last time. It has drawn heart from this month's local elections when it gained ground in former home secretary Suella Braverman's Hampshire backyard.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 23, 2024-Ausgabe von Evening Standard.
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