After that, they jostled for the leadership of the left within the Labour Group on Lambeth London Borough Council but Livingstone's later move to Camden in North London left the way open for Knight to become the leading left-winger within the Labour Group and Leader of the Council.
The district auditor found that the council had lost interest on tax payments as a result, which was held to be due to the "wilful misconduct" of Knight and 31 other councillors.
Each was required to repay the amount of lost interest in a surcharge and banned from holding office for five years from 1986.
[2] Prior to the 1987 general election, Knight was a potential candidate for Coventry North East: a runner-up at the Constituency Labour Party selection meeting, he lost out to John Hughes.
He pursued various business interests and remained treasurer of the town hall social club until it closed in 1994.