Lee Anderson (British politician)
Lee Anderson | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Ashfield | |
Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
Preceded by | Gloria De Piero |
Majority | 5,733 (11.7%) |
Personal details | |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Conservative |
Occupation | Politician |
Lee Anderson is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Ashfield since 2019.
Career
Anderson, a former miner, was a long-time Labour Party member and served as a councillor in the Oakham ward of Mansfield.[1] He also worked as the manager of the office of Ashfield Labour MP Gloria De Piero. He defected to the Conservatives in March 2018 and was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Ashfield in July 2019.[2] He was elected in the 2019 general election, succeeding his former boss, Gloria De Piero, who stood down before the election.
During the election he made controversial statements where he suggested problem tenants on the Carsic council estate should be made to live in tents and pick potatoes or any other seasonal vegetables from 6 in the morning until 6 in the evening, when they should then have a cold shower and go straight to bed.[3] He was also caught setting up a staged a door-knock talk with a friend whilst being filmed by Michael Crick, Political Correspondent for the Mail Plus.[1] He was also accused of antisemitism as he was an active member of a Facebook group containing antisemitic content.[4][5] Following the election he was named by The Guardian as one of the seven "most controversial" new Conservative MPs.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Ashfield's Conservative candidate Lee Anderson caught setting up door-knock with friendly voter". www.chad.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
- ^ Mairs, Nicholas (3 July 2019). "Labour frontbencher Gloria de Piero's former office manager to stand against her for the Tories". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ "'Nuisance' council tenants 'should live in tents' says Ashfield Tory candidate". BBC News. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Tories probe candidates over anti-Semitism claims". December 7, 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Mendel, Jack. "Two Tories win seats despite investigations over antisemitism". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com.
- ^ Syal, Rajeev; Mason, Rowena (16 December 2019). "Who are the Conservatives' most controversial new MPs?". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
External links