SOLIHULL MP Julian Knight is celebrating a ‘resounding victory’ in the General Election in which he increased his share of the vote by eight per cent – taking him to 32,975 votes and giving him a majority of over 20,000.
His closest rival – Labour’s Nigel Knowles – polled 12,414 votes.
Mr Knight – who can now look forward to a further five years as Solihull MP – has paid tribute to all who helped him in his campaign, to former Solihull MP John Taylor who passed away last week and has pledged his support to under-fire Prime Minister Theresa May.
Speaking after his emphatic win he said: “I wish to thank all those involved in the conduct of this election, as ever Solihull has shown it is great at organisation and doing things correctly.
“I would like to particularly thank our police in Solihull who do a fantastic job day in day out. I wish to acknowledge the efforts of my opponents and wish them well.
I’d like to also thank all those involved in my campaign from my association, Cameron, Hayden and Katy as well and especially my agent Paula Yates.
“I’d also like to thank once again my wife Philippa.
“The resounding nature of this victory is testament to you all.”
“Finally, there is one vote counted that is particularly poignant.
“It is the vote of John Taylor, the MP for Solihull for 22 years who passed away just over a week ago.
“He was always a tremendous support and good friend, he’d have very much approved that Solihull politically has now turned full circle.”
Speaking about Prime Minister May, Mr Knight added: “I believe that what the country needs is stability.
“It doesn’t need a leadership election at this time nor does it need the hard left policies of Labour which would do untold damage to Solihull.
“The job of government has though got a whole lot harder but I will ensure Solihull’s voice is always heard.”
The full picture of votes from a constituency turnout of 73.1 per cent:
Julian Knight (Conservative) 32,975 – Re-elected as MP
Nigel Knowles (Labour) – 12,414
Ade Adeyemo (Liberal Democrat) – 8,901
Andrew Garcarz (UKIP) – 1,291
Max McLoughlin (Green) – 1,157
