Tory plan to hand ex-mayor Andy Street plum seat at next election as Conservatives eye shaping party after expected election defeat

Senior Conservatives are drawing up a secret plan to parachute Andy Street into the House of Commons by giving him a plum safe seat.

Party figures and Tory grandees held talks last week about making the former West Midlands mayor the Conservative candidate for Solihull.

Some see Mr Street, an ally of Boris Johnson, as a key part of shaping the future of the Conservative party beyond an expected election defeat.

Mr Street lost the West Midlands mayoralty to Labour's Richard Parker by 1,508 votes in a bruising set of local election results for Rishi Sunak.

Senior Conservatives are drawing up a secret plan to parachute Andy Street into the House of Commons by giving him a plum safe seat

Mr Street lost the West Midlands mayoralty to Labour's Richard Parker (both pictured at the election) by 1,508 votes in a bruising set of local election results for Rishi Sunak

Mr Street, who had been the West Midlands mayor since 2017, had fought his election by distancing himself from the Conservative party.

Solihull MP Julian Knight is stepping down from Parliament at the general election. He won the seat with a 21,273 Conservative majority in 2019 but now sits as an independent.

Sources said it made 'logical sense' to put forward Mr Street, who grew up in Solihull, as a Conservative candidate for the seat. Mr Street, a former John Lewis MD has declined to comment on his future plans.