Just last week Lee Anderson compared the government to the “band on the Titanic” in a heated WhatsApp exchange about small boat crossings.
Now, the outspoken Tory MP for Ashfield in Nottingham has been handed the senior position of deputy party chairman – and the appointment has raised eyebrows.
The 56-year-old former miner has a history of making controversial comments, from criticising England footballers for taking the knee to questioning if people using food banks are in genuine need.
As the reshuffle got under way “30p Lee” started trending on Twitter – a nickname he was given after remarks he made about the cost-of-living crisis.
People who use food banks ‘cannot cook properly’
In May last year, Mr Anderson argued in the Commons that food banks are largely unnecessary because the main cause of food poverty is a lack of cooking and budgetary skills – and said that nutritious meals could be easily cooked for 30p a time.
“I think you’ll see first-hand that there’s not this massive use for food banks in this country,” he said.
“You’ve got generation after generation who cannot cook properly. They can’t cook a meal from scratch. They cannot budget.”
The comments attracted criticism from poverty campaigners, ministers and opposition MPs – but Mr Anderson has continued to question food bank usage.
Earlier this month, in a tweet, Mr Anderson used one of his members of staff to double down on his point that nurses earning around £30,000 a year don’t need to use food banks.
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Mr Anderson posted: “She [Katy] is single & earns less than 30k, rents a room for £775pcm in Central London, has student debt, £120 a month on travelling to work saves money every month, goes on foreign holidays & does not need to use a foodbank. Katy makes my point really well.”
However, the tweet was met with significant backlash by fellow social media users who accused him of using his employee to make a political point.
As the hashtag “Poor Katy” started trending on Twitter, Labour MP Dawn Butler claimed Mr Anderson’s tweet was a form of “bullying and harassment” and said she had reported him to the Commons authorities.
Boycott of England game in ‘taking the knee’ row
Mr Anderson also hit the headlines when he said he would not watch England in the Euro 2020 championships over the players’ decision to take the knee.
He said the anti-racism gesture was a “political movement” that risked alienating traditional football supporters.
“For the first time in my life I will not be watching my beloved England team whilst they are supporting a political movement whose core principles aim to undermine our very way of life,” he said in a Facebook post.
Even when Gareth Southgate’s team got to the final, Mr Anderson said he would not tune in, although he admitted he might check the score on his phone.
Clashes with ‘Stop Brexit’ man Steve Bray
Mr Anderson is also know for frequently clashing with “stop Brexit” man Steve Bray – a pro-EU protester who uses a megaphone to shout “Stop Brexit” at MPs.
In their most recent run-in, Mr Anderson branded Mr Bray a “parasite” and stole his hat.
He later challenged Mr Bray to settle their differences in a boxing ring, telling The Telegraph’s Chopper’s Politics podcast: “He’s a nuisance, and I’ve got a challenge for him.
“Meet me in the boxing ring, let’s do three rounds, and if I win, he never protests out there again.”
‘Nuisance tenants should pick vegetables in a field’
A former Labour councillor, Mr Anderson achieved notoriety even before entering parliament after defecting to the Tories and then suggesting “nuisance tenants” living on a council estate should be evicted into tents in a field to pick vegetables during the 2019 election campaign.
He appeared to win support for these views from one man whose door he knocked on – but it emerged he had called the householder ahead of the visit and told him to “make out you know who I am, that you know I’m the candidate but not that you are a friend”.
Mr Sunak chose Mr Anderson as deputy chairman despite the MP criticising his approach to unlawful immigration.
Just a few weeks ago, WhatsApp messages seen by Sky News showed the Tory MP comparing the government to the “band on the Titanic” in a heated debate between colleagues about whether the party was doing enough to tackle the issue of small boats crossing the Channel.
The exchange demonstrated some Tory MPs’ feeling that Mr Sunak’s administration is not going far enough on key issues and is likely to have influenced the prime minister’s decision to promote Mr Anderson.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner quipped Mr Anderson has been “handed a deck chair” while Labour MP Zarah Sultana said the Conservatives were “scraping the barrel” to fill government appointments.
The former miner will work under Greg Hands, who is replacing Nadhim Zahawi as chairman after he was sacked over his handling of his tax affairs.
Mr Anderson retweeted the announcement from the official Conservative Twitter account, saying: “Yes it’s true. From the pits to Parliament. Feeling very proud.”
Anderson ‘everything wrong with the Conservative brand’
But one Tory MP had choice words over the appointment, telling Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates that Mr Anderson is “everything that is wrong with the Conservative brand presently”.
The MP added: “He seems to rejoice in deliberately provoking and making aggressive simplistic statements that fail to recognise the complexities of the issues facing the country.
“If this is the new Tory party, many will be forgiven for deserting it.”
However, not all Conservative MPs share the same opinion.
Mr Anderson is popular among grassroot party members and was voted favourite backbench MP of 2022 in a survey by Conservative Home.
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Nigel Adams, the Tory MP for Selby and Ainsty, earlier hailed the decision as a “clever appointment” by the prime minister adding: “He understands why people voted Conservative in 2019 and what makes them tick.”
Tory MP Ben Bradley also insisted he’s a “good egg” who can “speak to working class people”.
“He’s absolutely authentic and parliament needs more of that,” he told LBC.
