Education Secretary Gillian Keegan insists she won't 'throw in the towel' in General Election race

The Education Secretary has insisted she will stand as a candidate in the General Election, despite some polls suggesting she could be vulnerable to losing her seat in Parliament.

Gillian Keegan has been the MP for Chichester in West Sussex since 2017 and currently has a majority of 21,000.

YouGov constituency projection polling from April indicated the Lib Dems could be within four percentage points of winning the seat from the Conservatives.

Ms Keegan told ITV News: “There's lots of speculation around an election… whether you'll get in, whether you'll get to be a minister, all of these things. The reality is the electorate are in charge.”

Asked if she would follow ministerial colleagues Michael Gove and Huw Merriman in quitting frontline politics, the Education Secretary said: “Never. I've never thrown in the towel in my life.”

• WATCH: Gillian Keegan speaks to ITV Meridian's Kit Bradshaw

Ms Keegan is one of several cabinet ministers potentially at risk of being ousted from the Commons by the electorate, including Leader of the House, Penny Mourdaunt, and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

The Education Secretary was speaking on a visit to Chichester College to announce a Conservative pledge to create 100,000 more apprenticeships a year, if the party wins the next election.

Labour said the policy was “laughable” after the Tories “presided over a halving of apprenticeships for young people”.

All parties have until Friday, 7 June, to nominate their candidates for each constituency.

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