Rishi Sunak was facing mounting woes today as he attempted to keep the Conservatives' general election campaign on track.
Mr Knight previously said he would not seek re-election in his constituency, but he today announced he would stand against the Tories in the West Midlands seat. The PM suffered a blow when Aaron Bell, pictured on the campaign trail with Mr Sunak in Stoke-on-Trent this week, said he won't be standing on 4 July
When he joined Mr Sunak on the campaign trail in Staffordshire earlier this week, he gave no indication of his intention to step down. Mr Knight sat as an independent MP until Parliament was dissolved this week ahead of the general election. He added: 'I will be campaigning on local issues – the election is over and Rishi has proven a disastrous campaigner so in a Parliament dominated by Labour, Solihull would be best served by an independent.'
Compulsory national service was endorsed as an idea by 57 per cent of over-65s - a target group for the Tories - although by just 18 per cent of 18-24 year-olds. There are signs that Reform has gained support after a series of high-profile interventions from Nigel Farage But in a sign of the mountain the Tories still have to climb, the survey gave Labour a 23 point lead.