Two more Tory MPs have announced they will not stand for the Conservative Party at the election. Julian Knight has announced he will stand as an Independent in Solihull, while former Tory MP Aaron Bell has said he will not contest the Newcastle-under-Lyme seat. Both of them used ‘personal and family’ reasons as their excuse to withdraw from Team Blue…
In Henry Mance’s piece today for the FT, lunching with Nigel Farage:
“Splendido!” Farage says, when the drinks arrive; I suppose it’s a step to European reconciliation. We clink glasses, and he lights the first of two back-to-back Benson & Hedges. A few minutes later, we’re back downstairs. “Are you drinking? Good.” He orders a glass of Sauvignon blanc for each of us — not a bottle, “because it’s Lent” — followed by a bottle of claret, to have with our meal. They say Farage drinks less than he used to. They say a lot of things.”