Lee Anderson has issued a blunt response to a video shared on social media by the Conservative party. The video aappears to show the Chief Whip of Reform UK saying that “a vote for Reform is a vote for Labour” back in 2023.
The post on X comes ahead of the local elections across the country on Thursday. People will vote for leaders across 24 authorities with the Reform party expected to make huge gains. However, the Tories have taken a dig at Mr Anderson in the build-up to the elections, with the MP for Ashfield slamming the tactics as “desperate stuff” in a two-word retort.
The Consvervatives shared a video on X of Mr Anderson saying in 2023: “This is what Reform want. They don’t care about this country at all. They are mad, these people. For a party to want that to happen, they don’t care about this country. All they want is a bit of power in Parliament.
“Now, the Labour party, if you vote Reform, you give the Labour party a chance to win. And a vote for Reform is a vote for Labour.”
The Tories said in the post: “‘A vote for Reform is a vote for Labour.’ Couldn’t agree more with Reform MP @LeeAndersonMP.”
Lee Anderson replied: “Just bookmarking this for Friday morning. BTW a vote for Reform UK now is not the same as in 2023. Ask my Red Wall colleagues who lost their seats last year. Desperate Stuff.”
Mr Anderson was elected as a member of the Conservative party in 2019. He went on to become the deputy chairman of the Tories under Rishi Sunak from February 2023 until January 2024.
However, he defected to Reform in March 2024 after having the whip suspended. He then became the party’s first MP and was elected at the 2024 general election.
After defecting to Reform, Mr Anderson said he was “prepared to gamble on myself”. He added that he knew “how many people support Reform and what they have to say”. He also said: “All I want is my country back”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described Mr Anderson’s defection as “huge”. He said: “I don’t think Westminster really understands this yet.”