Gillian Keegan could be the first cabinet minister to lose her seat, rumours suggest, as election count continues
Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan could be the cabinet minister first to lose her seat, according to reports emerging from the BBC and LBC’s Lewis Goodall.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Goodall said it could be ‘the scalp of the night’ if the claims turn out to be true, acknowledging the historic scope of a Liberal Democrat victory in a seat which has been true blue Conservative since 1924.
Similarly, The BBC reported earlier this morning (July 05), that The Conservatives have conceded the seat to Liberal Democrat candidate Jessica Brown Fuller.
This runs contrary to exit polls released earlier today, which ear-marked Chichester as a holdout for the Conservatives, giving the Liberal Democrats a slim 15 per cent chance of victory.
In Chichester, the count itself continues in spite of the rumours, with results expected some time after 3.30am, pushed back by an unexpected fire alarm at about 2.30am.
The mood amongst the Liberal Democrats is optimistic, however, with candidate Brown Fuller arriving to a chorus of cheers, from a team of triumphant staffers at approximately 2am.