Gove’s replacement caught out on claim he moved to Surrey Heath as home found on Airbnb

The Tory candidate to replace Michael Gove has boasted about moving into a home in the constituency, only for it emerge the property was seemingly an Airbnb.

Ed McGuinness, a councillor who is running to be the Conservative MP for Surrey Heath, said he is “now a resident of St Paul’s ward”.

Alongside pictures of himself entering a house, Mr McGuinness said Surrey Heath residents “rightly expect their MP to be a part of their community”.

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Blaming Mr Gove’s last minute decision to step down when the snap summer general election was called, Mr McGuinness said it has been “hard to get a place so quickly”.

But users on social media platform X quickly posted pictures of an Airbnb listing that appeared to show the same house.

The property is described on the rental site as “a light and airy self-contained annex”.

One said it was “a bit weird to do a ‘getting the keys’ shot for an Airbnb”.

A community note on X said: “The property featured here appears on Airbnb and is therefore not indicative of the user being a “resident” of the local community.

“Moreover the availability of the property does not indicate a long-term booking has been made.”

At the time of Mr McGuinness’s post about the home, it still appeared to be available to book on several days in July.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, who are eyeing up the seat, said: “From Gove giving up to a candidate seemingly camping in an Airbnb, it’s clear the Conservatives are running scared of the Liberal Democrats right across Surrey. To be honest, it would be the best for Mr McGuinness as he could be gone from the constituency in just a few weeks.”

Mr McGuinness is a former British army officer and veteran of Afghanistan. His website describes him as a political commentator, an active Conservative campaigner, a former Association Chairman and now a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate.

Mr Gove, one of the longest-serving Conservative ministers and the last remaining high-profile MP from the David Cameron government elected in 2010, announced he would step down at the 4 July election after it was called.

The shock announcement was a blow to the Tory Party which is facing an exodus of high-profile MPs at the election.

Mr Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, posted on X: “After nearly 20 years serving the wonderful people of Surrey Heath and over a decade in Cabinet across five government departments, I have today taken the decision to step down as a Member of Parliament.”

Mr Gove said it was time for a “new generation” to lead and highlighted his time in various government roles, including as education secretary, Cabinet office minister and housing secretary.

The Lib Dems believe that Mr Gove’s Surrey Heath seat is also up for grabs. It too was altered in the boundary review but the Lib Dems hope to overturn what was an 18,349 majority in 2019 under the old boundaries.

Mr McGuinness was asked to comment.