Last week, Lee Anderson – MP for Ashfield, GB News host, and ex-Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party – was suspended following his refusal to apologise for suggesting “Islamists” had got control of Sadiq Khan, London’s Mayor.
Anderson has long had the affection of some of our survey panel. He was our Backbencher of the Year in 2022, and came fourth this year, perhaps tarnished by his flirtation with CCHQ. Having resigned to rebel over the Government’s Rwanda vote in January, he now finds himself again as a free agent.
His decision to suggest Khan had “given our capital city away” to his Islamist “mates” provoked immediate controversy. Daniel Hannan criticised Anderson for conflating Islamism with Islam, offending both Muslims and Conservatives. Others have backed Anderson for supposedly saying the unsayable. Reports suggest he received a standing ovation at a party fundraiser on Friday.
We will each have our view about the rights and wrongs of Anderson’s comments. Nonetheless, the trend of our panel is clear. 30.89 per cent of survey respondents thought his suspension was the right decision. But 64.18 per cent – almost two-thirds – suggested Rishi Sunak and Simon Hart should not have stripped him of the Whip.
Do Anderson’s supporters agree with his comments, or, if they don’t, accept his explanation that his phrasing was a “little clumsy” without a proper apology? Do they see in Anderson, as Andrew Gimson does, an interesting politician – ex-miner and ex-Labour member turned Red Wall Tory MP – who does not deserve a permanent exile from his new party?
Whatever their reasoning, since over half of our panel are GB News viewers, we can expect them to continue to follow Anderson’s career with great interest. He received 428 more votes in opposition to his suspension than he did to become our Backbencher of the Year in 2022.