Jeremy Hunt has denied reports that he will quit parliament at the next election to avoid suffering a “Michael Portillo moment.”

The Chancellor's spokesperson insisted he will be the candidate in the new Godalming and Ash constituency when the country goes to the polls.

His current South West Surrey seat will be scrapped as part of the Boundary Commission’s wide-ranging changes to the electoral map.

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Though he has been selected as the candidate for the new constituency, the Observer quoted several senior sources saying they expected Mr Hunt to announce his intention to stand down.

Labour is on course to win a landslide at the next election. Professor Sir John Curtice said they could even win a bigger victory than Tony Blair managed in 1997 when he demolished John Major's Conservatives winning with a majority of 179.

The next election is widely expected to be held next year though Rishi Sunak can hold until January 2025 before he must call a vote.

The scale of the swings to Keir Starmer’s party in last week’s by-elections has only added to the anxiety felt by a number of incumbent Tory MPs.

With a notional majority of 9,000, Mr Hunt's seat could be in danger.

One former minister told the paper: “Barring a miracle [of the Tories winning and forming another government], I can’t see Jeremy wanting to be in opposition under a new leader. And if he loses he will be the biggest scalp on election night. That is not a departure anyone would want. People in Surrey are saying he will not stand.”

Another former Tory minister said: “Of course Jeremy cannot say so now, but I think he won’t stand. It is not uncommon to pull out having said you will stand, citing changes of circumstances.

“Short of turning things round and winning, and him remaining chancellor, which is not exactly likely, there is nothing in it for him.”

During the 1997 election, one of the most remarkable victories for Tony Blair’s Labour was when Stephen Twigg unexpectedly ousted Michael Portillo in Enfield Southgate.

Last weekend the Liberal Democrats confirmed that Paul Follows, their leader on Waverley council, had been chosen as its candidate for the Godalming and Ash seat.

Mr Follows has told the local party that he would “work to ensure that the Portillo moment in the public mindset will become the Hunt moment”.

One reason why Mr Hunt may say he’s staying on is because it may be difficult for him to otherwise remain as Chancellor.

A spokesman said: “Jeremy Hunt will stand as the Conservative Party candidate for Godalming and Ash at the next general election.”

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Speculation around Mr Hunt’s future comes amid grumbling over the party’s future .

The Sunday Times reports that up to 25 MPs could be set to hand in letters of no confidence to the 1922 Committee this week.

Under party rules he is protected until Tuesday which marks one year since he took over from Liz Truss.

One MP said it wasn't clear who the rebels wanted to replace Mr Sunak, but that they wanted him out.

The source said: “I told them I didn't think the British public would forgive us for changing prime minister again and that it would likely hurt not help our electoral fortunes.”

Asked if the buck stopped with Mr Sunak for last week’s by-election defeats, Immigration Miniter Robert Jenrick told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “Well, Rishi Sunak is the Prime Minister but we are all in government responsible for the Conservative Party and what we’re doing to deliver for the British public.

“I think the Prime Minister is making good progress. We’re working extremely hard, we have the right priorities which match those of the public. The key thing is that we actually deliver on those priorities.”

Asked if he was in denial about the by-election losses, the said: “I think we all have to listen to what the voters are saying in those by elections, but we also shouldn’t read too much into them.

“My sense is that the public are undecided. They’re certainly not sold on Keir Starmer. Conservative voters want a good reason to come out and vote for us.”

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Asked about tax cuts, Mr Jenrick said they first needed to tackle the “great evil” of inflation.

Once that was under control “we will consider what more we should do”.

“But you can trust the Conservatives to make sensible, prudent decisions on the future of the economy and to bring down taxes where it is capable to do so,” he added.

When it was put to him that it had only been a year since Conservative Liz Truss trashed the economy, he said: “Look at the difference that we’ve seen in the last 12 months under Rishi Sunak, the fact that we have stabilised the economy, that it’s growing, that inflation is falling and on critical issues like immigration, were making significant progress for the first time in a long time.”