The Liberal Democrats are scrambling to select a candidate for Tory MP Michael Gove’s seat in Surrey amid speculation that the senior figure is considering stepping down from parliament.
Sir Ed Davey’s party has set a selection deadline of this week in the “blue wall” south-east constituency of Surrey Heath in preparation for the former minister’s possible departure.
A Lib Dem source told The Independent that several local party figures had heard Gove could be ready to quit if his rival Liz Truss becomes leader and his favoured candidate Rishi Sunak misses out.
