Tory MP who campaigned alongside PM simply days in the past says he WON’T stand

Rishi Sunak was facing mounting woes today as he attempted to keep the Conservatives‘ general election campaign on track.

The PM suffered a blow when Aaron Bell, who was Tory MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme until Parliament was dissolved this week, said he won’t be standing on 4 July.

Mr Bell announced his bombshell decision despite having joined Mr Sunak on the campaign trail in Stoke-on-Trent just days ago.

In a second setback for the PM, a former Tory MP who lost the whip over sexual assault claims performed a U-turn and said he would now stand as an independent.

Julian Knight was the Conservative MP for Solihull from 2015 to 2022.

He was stripped of the party whip in December 2022 after it was revealed he was being investigated by police over a claim of serious sexual assault.

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 news comes after Mark Logan, the former Conservative MP for Bolton North East, last night revealed his defection to Labour.

Meanwhile, a new poll showed the Tories are still 25 points behind Labour – despite strong support for the striking policies Mr Sunak has recently unveiled.

Mr Bell, who has represented Newcastle-under-Lyme since the 2019 general election, said his decision was due to ‘personal and family reasons’.

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 Bell is the 79th former Conservative MP to stand down, which is the highest number in modern political history, surpassing the previous post-war record of 72 Tories who stood down ahead of the 1997 election.

In an open letter posted on Facebook, he said: ‘It is with a very heavy heart that I have decided not to contest the forthcoming general election, for personal and family reasons. Being an MP has taken a considerable toll on me.’

Mr Bell, who acted as an assistant whip since November last year, added he was proud to have served in Mr Sunak’s Government, and thanked his wife and three children for their support and ‘sacrifices’.

Mr Knight sat as an independent MP until Parliament was dissolved this week ahead of the general election.

He was stripped of the Tory whip shortly after Mr Sunak became PM after it was revealed he was being investigated by police over a claim of serious sexual assault.

Both the Metropolitan Police and Essex Police dropped their probes into Mr Knight, who has always denied the allegations, but the Conservatives did not restore the party’s whip to him.

He posted on Twitter, formerly known as X, this afternoon: ‘After discussions with family, Conservative members and constituents I have decided to run as an independent in the forthcoming election.

‘Solihull deserves more than a whips-appointed candidate who doesn’t get the issues.

‘It’s important that having been forced out of the party after an entirely false allegation, which is now being investigated by police for perversion of the course of justice, it’s important to make a stand.

‘People should not lose their position because of a false allegation.’

Mr Knight’s decision to run against the Tory candidate in the newly created Solihull West and Shirley seat causes a headache for Mr Sunak.

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.’

The latest YouGov tracker poll ahead of the general election found the  Conservatives on just 21 per cent, with Labour on 46 per cent.

The advantage was down two points overall since the beginning of the week, but the change was within the margin of error.

The effective standstill will be a disappointment as high-profile Tory policy announcements on tax cuts for pensioners and axing ‘rip off’ degrees received backing. 

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. 

Meanwhile, there are signs that Reform has gained support after a series of high-profile interventions from Nigel Farage. 

Although the Brexit champion has decided against standing for a seat on 4 July, he has been hammering home messages on immigration – including brutal clashes with Piers Morgan last night on the BBC‘s Question Time programme.

YouGov found Reform’s support had risen from 12 per cent to 15 per cent in the past few days.

So far there have been few signs of the narrowing in the polls that CCHQ have been hoping for, although five weeks of the campaign remain.

Mr Sunak will be desperate to land solid hits on Keir Starmer when they face off in the first TV debate on Tuesday. 

Research by JL Partners shared exclusively with the Daily Mail found only four in ten have ‘definitely decided’ how to vote.

But in a sign of the mountain the Tories still have to climb, the survey gave Labour a 23 point lead.

Overall, it put Labour on a 47 per cent vote share, with the Tories on 24 per cent, and Reform UK on 11 per cent.

The poll also suggests Sir Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves are more trusted with running the economy than the PM and Jeremy Hunt.

And the Labour leader is named as the best prime minister by 37 per cent to 19 per cent – though nearly half of all voters say they do not know.

He is, however, perceived as ‘dull’ and ‘indecisive’, while Mr Sunak is branded ‘out of touch’ and ‘out of his depth’.

Nearly two thirds – 63 per cent – of voters expect the election to result in a Labour majority, with just 5 per cent predicting a Tory majority.

Overall, only 42 per cent of those surveyed said they had definitely decided how to vote, while 27 per cent said they were leaning towards a party but may change their mind.

Some 13 per cent said they were ‘completely undecided’ but would probably vote, 13 per cent said they ‘probably won’t vote’, while 5 per cent ‘don’t know’.

And only 54 per cent of 2019 Conservatives voters switching to Labour say they have definitely decided how to vote.