Lee Anderson’s shock resignation from his Deputy Chairman role over last night’s Rwanda rebellion has left a major hole in the heart of Rishi Sunak’s re-election plans.
Tory HQ had been planning to deploy the Rottweiler MP as a “secret weapon” against Sir Keir Starmer, not least in northern Red Wall seats where they could contrast him against the North London image of Sir Keir Starmer.
Concerns will now rage that Mr Anderson’s refusal to support the Government’s flagship Rwanda Bill will only highlight to voters concerned about illegal immigration that Rishi Sunak isn’t on their side.
Despite only being in Parliament for four years, Lee Anderson has shot to prominence as a no-nonsense, plain-speaking symbol of Boris Johnson’s sweeping victories in Labour’s former heartlands.
A former miner and Labour councillor, the Ashfield MP split from his former party in 2018 over a row about a local gipsy camp.
He has since become a beloved icon on the right, saying things that may be deeply controversial in middle-class, metropolitan London circles, but that chime with millions of voters.
According to The Times, in recent weeks No. 10 insiders had started referring to him as a “secret weapon for the election”.
Tory HQ had even been helping him build up his social media profile, in order to ensure as many voters as possible could see his opinions and messages come to the election.
Mr Anderson would have been used to balance Mr Sunak’s more centrist, southern-facing appeal in the Home Counties and so-called “Blue Wall” constituencies.
Following Mr Anderson’s resignation, alongside fellow Red Wall MP Brendan Clarke-Smith, the Tories will now have to develop a new plan for appealing to northern voters.
In their joint letter of resignation last night, Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith said they were having to quit in order to “strengthen the legislation”.
They said: “We have already had two pieces of legislation thwarted by a system that does not work in favour of the British people. It is for this reason that we have supported the amendments to the Rwanda Bill.
“This is not because we are against the legislation, but because like everybody else we want it to work.”
They did, however, praise their former team at Conservative Central Headquarters (CCHQ), saying chairman Richard Holden “is doing a tremendous job in making sure we are in good shape to campaign for a historic fifth term, and to prevent the unthinkable prospect of a Labour Government, which would damage this country so much”.
Last night Reform UK leapt on their resignations, encouraging the pair to cross the floor and defect from the Tories.
Richard Tice told GB News: “I can confirm that Lee and Brendan would both pass our strict vetting process.”
Mr Anderson previously claimed he was offered “a lot of money” by Reform UK to switch parties.
