Jeremy Hunt has donated more than £100,000 to local Conservatives in a bid to keep his seat

Jeremy Hunt was forced to donate more than £100,000 to the Conservative Party in his constituency to boost his chances of re-election amid warnings he would lose his seat, official records show.

Hunter’s Godalming and Ashe constituency is a target seat for the Lib Dems and survival polls suggest he will become the first chancellor to lose a general election in modern times.

Electoral Commission records show he donated £105,261 to the Surrey South West Conservative Association over the past five years.

The chancellor’s personal donations to the association under the past three Conservative prime ministers contrast sharply with the combined £4,447 he donated to the association under Theresa May and David Cameron.

The Hunter Local Association’s latest accounts warned that its “balance sheet is at a less than satisfactory level” and included a note that members’ annual dues will increase this year.

In 2021, donations to the Principals’ Association fell by almost 50%. South West Surrey received just £42,693 in donations that year, down from more than £80,000 in 2020.

A Labor source said: “This tells you everything you need to know about the state of the Conservative Party that the chancellor appears to be spending more time handing out personal checks to extend his political career than repairing the economy his government has damaged.

“On the same day the chancellor is talking about curbing money waste, he might want to look at how he’s spending some of it.”

“I hope to be chancellor after the election,” Hunt said on Sunday. However, survival polls in his constituency showed the Liberal Democrats at 35 per cent, the Conservatives at 29 per cent and Labor at 22 per cent. When local voters were asked to outline the issues that determine how they vote, “health and the NHS” came first, with just 4% saying tax was a key election issue.

Two-thirds (67%) of respondents said increased funding for public services such as the NHS was more important in deciding their vote, with 25% saying tax cuts were more important.

Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “It’s no surprise that Jeremy Hunt is on the verge of losing his seat and people across Surrey are frustrated that they can’t Appointment GPs are furious because their hospitals are being left to GPs.” Collapse, water companies are still allowed to pollute rivers.

“In the Prime Minister’s own backyard, demand on food banks is surging as his government fails to control the cost of living crisis. Surrey’s Liberal Democrats are furious and want to evict Tory MPs who are taking people for granted.”