Tory MP Lee Anderson joins right-wing populist party Reform UK

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Lee Anderson has joined Nigel Farage‘s Reform UK with a furious attack on the Conservative Party after he was suspended by the Tories for making Islamophobic remarks about London mayor Sadiq Khan.

The former Tory deputy chairman said he had done “a lot of soul searching” but had decided to join Reform in a bid to take “my country back”.

Mr Anderson, the MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, accused the Conservative Party of stifling “free speech” and said he found it “unpalatable” that he had been disciplined for “speaking my mind”.

In a speech, he said his parents, who live in his constituency, had told him they could not vote for him at this year’s election if he did not defect to Reform.

He said: “All I want is my country back. Now this may sound offensive to the liberal elite. But it’s not offensive to my friends or family, my constituents and some of my constituents like my mum and dad, who told me they could not vote for me unless I joined Reform UK.

“My parents are both nearly 80 and they get it, and I must not let them down.”

The news was announced by Reform leader Richard Tice in what was billed as a “major” moment for the party.

Mr Tice, who said he expected “more [defections] to follow”, welcomed Mr Anderson as a “champion” of the Red Wall who “is trusted by voters to tell it as it is”. As recently as January, Mr Anderson branded Mr Tice a “poundshop Nigel Farage” and said Reform was “not a proper political party”.

Asked what has changed, the MP said: “There’s not been a turning point. We all know that sometimes politicians are about as trustworthy as journalists in what they say and do.

“But it’s been a gradual journey, and I think there’s been several tipping points over the past few months. And when I find myself suspended for speaking my mind – and, by the way, speaking up on behalf of millions of people up and down the country who agree with me – that for me is unpalatable. It’s a shocker, if I’m honest.”

Mr Anderson will stand at the next general election for Reform, which was formerly known as Brexit Party and set up by Mr Farage. Projections based on current polling show Mr Anderson is on course to lose the seat to Labour’s candidate Rhea Keehn by a significant margin.

The move will pile fresh pressure on Rishi Sunak, with the Tories at risk of losing tens of seats at the next election if the insurgent populist party splits the right-wing vote.

Mr Anderson is also hugely popular with the Tory grassroots and was given a standing ovation at a Conservative fundraiser even after his suspension.

He was suspended by the Conservative Party last month after claiming “Islamists” had “got control” of Mr Khan and London. It means he now sits as an independent MP.

Mr Sunak and a series of ministers refused to say his comments were racist, but suspended him for refusing to apologise for the remarks.

In an appearance on GB News, Mr Anderson doubled down on his remarks and said: “I don’t actually believe that the Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is they’ve got control of Khan and they’ve got control of London… He’s actually given our capital city away to his mates.”

Sir Keir Starmer said it was right that Mr Anderson was suspended from the party over the “appalling racist and Islamophobic outburst”. The Labour leader also challenged Mr Sunak over wider Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.

Speculation Mr Anderson was to join Reform mounted immediately after his suspension.

A meeting between Mr Anderson and Mr Tice at a hotel off the M1 only fuelled expectations he would defect to the party. He has previously claimed to have been offered “a lot of money” to join the party set up by Mr Farage.

Reform is currently polling at around 12 per cent, compared with the Conservatives on 24 per cent. Pollsters have repeatedly warned the party could deprive the Tories of tens of seats by splitting the vote, even if Reform itself fails to send any MPs to Westminster.

Two February by-elections saw Reform score double-digit shares of the vote in what Mr Tice called a “defining moment” making the party a “significant force now in British politics”.

Mr Tice and Mr Anderson ruled out holding a by-election after the defection, saying there would be a general election “within weeks or months”. But in 2020 Mr Anderson backed a bill that would have seen a recall petition sparked for any MP who voluntarily changes parties.

Senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood said Mr Anderson was engaging in “Trumpism and populism”. He told TalkTV his former colleague had not offered any solutions and was “building on people’s fears, saying ‘the establishment hasn’t got it right’” and not offering any solutions.

And the Liberal Democrats said Mr Sunak’s authority “lies in tatters” after the man he appointed deputy Tory chairman defected to a rival party.

Deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “This is a prime minister that cannot govern his own party let alone the country.

“Even now Sunak is too weak to rule out Nigel Farage joining the Conservative Party. It just shows that there is now hardly a cigarette paper between the Conservative Party and Reform.”

Mr Anderson’s defection means he is in his third political party in six years and comes just weeks after he described Mr Tice as a “pound shop Nigel Farage” and “Reform’s answer to Diane Abbott”.

He was previously a long time Labour member and served as a local councillor for the party before joining the Tories in 2018.

Labour’s Ashfield candidate Ms Keehn said the constituency “deserves so much better than this”, calling for a “fresh start with a Labour government and MP”. She said: “People are fed up with politicians playing political games just to suit themselves. It’s clear Rishi has lost control of his party.”

A Tory spokesman said: “Lee himself said he fully accepted that the Chief Whip had no option but to suspend the whip in these circumstances.

“We regret he’s made this decision. Voting for Reform can’t deliver anything apart from a Keir Starmer-led Labour government.”