General Election 2024: Surrey Conservative candidate responds after being slammed over Airbnb rental

Ed McGuinness was named as the Conservative’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Surrey Heath on Friday, June 7 and the following day (June 8) shared an image of himself with the keys to a home in the constituency.

Social media users were quick to point out that the property was an Airbnb rental and a community note was added on X, clarifying that the original post was ‘misleading’ and would ‘lead readers to think they permanently live in the region’. Users also found that the property was available from July 6, just days after polling day.

But Mr McGuinness, whose home address is listed as Putney on the official candidate nomination papers, insisted he was renting the property in St Paul’s, Camberley, while he looked to buy in the area. The listing has since been removed from Airbnb. He is standing in the seat vacated by Michael Gove.

Mr McGuinness said: “The property was a former Airbnb I am renting while I look to buy. To get a place within 100 hours of being selected is a great achievement (if you know an estate agent who can work it out sooner please let me know!) and demonstrates my commitment to Surrey Heath. Presumably the landlord had it listed on Airbnb and didn’t immediately remove it as soon as I moved in.”

There is no requirement for candidates in a General Election to live in the constituency they represent. All other Surrey Heath candidates, apart from the Lib Dem candidate, were registered at an address outside the constituency. But voters and other candidates standing in the constituency have called Mr McGuinness out, with one claiming he was ‘misleading voters’ after the post where he said he was “part of the community” and “so happy to live here and honoured to stand and represent our great residents”.

The Liberal Democrat candidate for Surrey Heath, Al Pinkerton said: “First we had Michael Gove running scared, now we have a candidate who has overshot his parachute so much it’s landed in Putney. I’d be happy to offer the Conservatives’ Putney candidate a walking tour of our constituency so he can get properly acquainted.”

Standing for Labour, the Croydon borough Councillor Jessica Hammersley-Rich, said she was “amused” that the Conservative candidate was renting an Airbnb and that he is “misleading voters from day one”. She added: “In his situation I’d probably be looking for a short term let too.”

Another candidate with their eyes on Surrey Heath, Reform UK’s Sam Goggin, who lives in Farnham and Bordon constituency, said: “[Mr McGuinness] last-minute-dot-com’s efforts to secure accommodation, when I called him out on not be a local, obviously hit home! Excuse the pun. This is another example of Conservatives placing career politicians in their once safe seats, with only tenuous links to the area.”

Candidates for The Green Party and The Heritage Party were also contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) for comment.

Some social media users criticised Mr McGuinness on ‘misleading’ people to thinking he was a permanent resident, while others backed him saying at least he is trying to live in the area. One user pointed out that it takes ‘minutes’ to book an Airbnb rental and “St Paul’s isn’t an [in] demand holiday destination”.

A Conservative spokesperson added: “Mr McGuinness has confirmed he is in the process of moving to Surrey Heath on a permanent basis.”