Connect with us

Published

on

Former Conservative deputy chair Lee Anderson has defected to Reform UK, becoming the party’s first MP in the Commons.

Mr Anderson, who took the seat of Ashfield in 2019, was kicked out of the parliamentary Conservative Party for refusing to apologise after alleging that London mayor Sadiq Khan was controlled by “Islamists”.

And while some of his colleagues had called for his reinstatement, others accused him of Islamophobia.

Making the announcement of his defection at an event in central London, Mr Anderson told journalists he had done “a lot of soul searching” on his “political journey”, but concluded: “Somebody has to make a stand.”

Politics live: ‘I want my country back,’ declares Anderson

“It is no secret that I’ve been talking to my friends in Reform for a while,” added the MP. “And Reform UK has offered me the chance to speak out in parliament on behalf of millions of people up and down the country who feel that they’re not being listened to.

“People will say that I’ve took a gamble. And I’m prepared to gamble on myself, as I know from my mailbag how many people in this country support Reform UK and what they have to say.

More on Conservatives

“And like millions of people up and down the country, all I want is my country back.”

Asked by Sky News’ political editor, Beth Rigby, what his message would be to his former Tory colleagues who feared the defection could damage their chances at the next election, he said: “Country, constituency, then party.”

Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge
Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge

Sky News Monday to Thursday at 7pm.
Watch live on Sky channel 501, Freeview 233, Virgin 602, the Sky News website and app or YouTube.

Tap here for more

Mr Anderson was welcomed to Reform UK by its leader, Richard Tice, who said his first MP would be a “champion of the red wall”, who would “tell it as it is, with no nonsense, no waffle”.

Refuting claims his own views were controversial, Mr Anderson added: “They are opinions which are shared by millions of people up and down the country.

“It’s not controversial to be concerned about illegal immigration. It’s not controversial to be concerned about legal migration.

“It’s not controversial to be, you know, worried, concerned about the Metropolitan Police and the failing London mayor and the hate marchers, the street crime and the shoplifters literally getting away with ruining businesses on a daily basis.

“It’s not controversial to fight back in a culture war, a culture war that is sweeping our nation.”

Defecting to another party does not trigger a by-election automatically, but an MP can choose to hold one – as both Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless did when they left the Tories to join UKIP.

However, Mr Anderson said he would not call a vote, claiming it would be “pretty reckless” so close to a general election and would “cost a fortune”.

Anderson’s deflection moves Reform to the main stage

By Matthew Thompson, political correspondent

And there we have it. Lee Anderson has become Reform UK’s first member of parliament.

The defection will send shockwaves through Westminster, and particularly through the Conservative Party – who only a week ago were trying to seize control of the narrative and boost their dire polling numbers with a tax cutting budget.

No such luck now, you suspect.

Many people in the Conservative Party rather like Mr Anderson, and would have welcomed him back into the fold with open arms.

He is the man brought in by Rishi Sunak to say the things that others couldn’t. To be the party’s voice in the red wall. The ballast against both Labour and Reform.

By defecting, he not only damages the Conservatives, but gives a significant boost to their rivals.

The nightmare Conservative scenario is to be squeezed between both a resurgent Labour Party and a rising Reform UK, to say nothing of the Liberal Democrats.

It is shades not of the Labour landslide in 1997, but of 1993 – the year the Canadian Progressive Conservative Party suffered a near extinction-level event after being assailed on several sides by rival parties including, portentously, a right-wing outfit called Reform.

Mr Anderson’s defection does not mean that will happen. But at a stroke, Reform UK have moved from the side-lines to the main stage.

There are swirling rumours of further defections in the pipeline, all of which will do little to warm the chill dread of 1993 currently coursing down Conservative spines.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said they “regret” the decision taken by Mr Anderson, adding: “Voting for Reform can’t deliver anything apart from a Keir Starmer-led Labour government that would take us back to square one – which means higher taxes, higher energy costs, no action on channel crossings, and uncontrolled immigration.”

But while one of the right wing factions within the Tories, the New Conservatives, released their own statement agreeing with that sentiment, they placed the blame of the MP’s exit at the door of their own party.

“We have failed to hold together the coalition of voters who gave us an 80 seat majority in 2019,” it said. “Those voters – in our traditional heartlands and in the Red Wall seats like Ashfield – backed us because we offered an optimistic, patriotic, no-nonsense Conservatism.

“They voted for lower immigration, for a better NHS, for a rebalanced economy, and for pride in our country.

“Our poll numbers show what the public think of our record since 2019. We cannot pretend any longer that ‘the plan is working’. We need to change course urgently.”

Electoral Dysfunction
Electoral Dysfunction

Listen to Beth Rigby, Jess Phillips and Ruth Davidson as they unravel the spin in a new weekly podcast from Sky News

Tap here to follow

Labour MP and national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden accused the Conservatives of “falling apart”, adding: “What does it say about Rishi Sunak’s judgement that he promoted Lee Anderson in the first place?

“The truth is that the prime minister is too weak to lead a party too extreme to be led, and if the Tories got another five years it would all just get worse.”

The Liberal Democrats also said Mr Anderson’s defection left Mr Sunak’s authority in “tatters”, with deputy leader Daisy Cooper adding: “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 began his political career in the Labour Party as a councillor and member of staff for Ashfield’s then MP Gloria De Piero.

But after being suspended by the local organisation, he chose to join the Conservatives and became their candidate for the 2019 election, winning the seat with a majority more than 5,000.

The MP became a controversial voice on the backbenches with his views on immigration and the so-called culture wars, but gained a lot of support from the right of his party and was made deputy chair by Rishi Sunak.

However, he stood down from the role in January to vote against the government’s Rwanda deportation plan, which he believed needed toughening up.

Mr Anderson’s latest defection will come as a blow to Mr Sunak, and a boost to Reform UK – which is currently polling above the Liberal Democrats.

Continue Reading

Politics

‘Shameful’ that black boys in London more likely to die than white boys, says Met Police chief

Published

on

By

'Shameful' that black boys in London more likely to die than white boys, says Met Police chief

It is “shameful” that black boys growing up in London are “far more likely” to die than white boys, Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley has told Sky News.

The commissioner told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that relations with minority communities “is difficult for us”.

Sir Mark, who came out of retirement to become head of the UK’s largest police force in 2022, said: “We can’t pretend otherwise that we’ve got a history between policing and black communities where policing has got a lot wrong.

“And we get a lot more right today, but we do still make mistakes. That’s not in doubt. I’m being as relentless in that as it can be.”

He said the “vast majority” of the force are “good people”.

However, he added: “But that legacy, combined with the tragedy that some of this crime falls most heavily in black communities, that creates a real problem because the legacy creates concern.”

Sir Mark, who also leads the UK’s counter-terrorism policing, said it is “not right” that black boys growing up in London “are far more likely to be dead by the time they’re 18” than white boys.

“That’s, I think, shameful for the city,” he admitted.

The Met Police chief’s admission comes two years after an official report found the force is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Police chase suspected phone thief

Baroness Casey was commissioned in 2021 to look into the Met Police after serving police officer Wayne Couzens abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

She pinned the primary blame for the Met’s culture on its past leadership and found that stop and search and the use of force against black people was excessive.

At the time, Sir Mark, who had been commissioner for six months when the report was published, said he would not use the labels of institutionally racist, institutionally misogynistic and institutionally homophobic, which Casey insisted the Met deserved.

However, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who helped hire Sir Mark – and could fire him – made it clear the commissioner agreed with Baroness Casey’s verdict.

After the report was released, Sir Mark said “institutional” was political language so he was not going to use it, but he accepted “we have racists, misogynists…systematic failings, management failings, cultural failings”.

A few months after the report, Sir Mark launched a two-year £366m plan to overhaul the Met, including increased emphasis on neighbourhood policing to rebuild public trust and plans to recruit 500 more community support officers and an extra 565 people to work with teams investigating domestic violence, sexual offences and child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips from 8.30am on Sunday.

Continue Reading

Politics

Unite votes to suspend Angela Rayner over Birmingham bin strike

Published

on

By

Unite votes to suspend Angela Rayner over Birmingham bin strike

Labour’s largest union donor, Unite, has voted to suspend Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner over her role in the Birmingham bin strike row.

Members of the trade union, one of the UK’s largest, also “overwhelmingly” voted to “re-examine its relationship” with Labour over the issue.

They said Ms Rayner, who is also housing, communities and local government secretary, Birmingham Council’s leader, John Cotton, and other Labour councillors had been suspended for “bringing the union into disrepute”.

There was confusion over Ms Rayner’s membership of Unite, with her office having said she was no longer a member and resigned months ago and therefore could not be suspended.

But Unite said she was registered as a member. Parliament’s latest register of interests had her down as a member in May.

Politics latest: Italy and other EU countries have ‘huge doubts’ about legality of UK migrant deal

The union said an emergency motion was put to members at its policy conference in Brighton on Friday.

More on Angela Rayner

Unite is one of the Labour Party’s largest union donors, donating £414,610 in the first quarter of 2025 – the highest amount in that period by a union, company or individual.

The union condemned Birmingham’s Labour council and the government for “attacking the bin workers”.

Mountains of rubbish have been piling up in the city since January after workers first went on strike over changes to their pay, with all-out strike action starting in March. An agreement has still not been made.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Rat catcher tackling Birmingham’s bins problem

Ms Rayner and the councillors had their membership suspended for “effectively firing and rehiring the workers, who are striking over pay cuts of up to £8,000”, the union added.

‘Missing in action’

General secretary Sharon Graham told Sky News on Saturday morning: “Angela Rayner, who has the power to solve this dispute, has been missing in action, has not been involved, is refusing to come to the table.”

She had earlier said: “Unite is crystal clear, it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette.

“Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts.

“The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council, is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises.

“People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer not workers.”

SN pics from 10/04/25 Tyseley Lane, Tyseley, Birmingham showing some rubbish piling up because of bin strikes
Image:
Piles of rubbish built up around Birmingham because of the strike over pay

Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said the government’s “priority is and always has been the residents of Birmingham”.

He said the decision by Unite workers to go on strike had “caused disruption” to the city.

“We’ve worked to clean up streets and remain in close contact with the council […] as we support its recovery,” he added.

A total of 800 Unite delegates voted on the motion.

Continue Reading

Politics

Binance’s CZ threatens to sue Bloomberg over Trump stablecoin report

Published

on

By

Binance’s CZ threatens to sue Bloomberg over Trump stablecoin report

Binance’s CZ threatens to sue Bloomberg over Trump stablecoin report

Binance co-founder CZ has dismissed a Bloomberg report linking him to the Trump-backed USD1 stablecoin, threatening legal action over alleged defamation.

Continue Reading

Trending