'30p Lee' has made plenty of unbelievable comments over the years

Tory MP Lee Anderson has been appointed deputy chair of the Conservative Party in Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle. Anderson is among the most controversial MPs on the Tory benches, known for being a leading culture warrior and adopting a range of hard right positions.

With a string of unbelievable comments and actions under his belt, we run down the five most outrageous of them.

1. Saying ‘nuisance’ council tenants should be forced to live in tents

Anderson gained notoriety during the 2019 general election campaign. He shared a video on Facebook in which he called for what he described as ‘nuisance’ council tenants to be forced to live in tents and pick vegetables.

In the video, he said, “My plan would be, and again this is just my personal opinion, is that these people who have to live somewhere – let’s have them in a tent in the middle of a field. 6 o’clock every morning, let’s have them up, let’s have them in the field picking potatoes or any current seasonal vegetables. Back in the tent, cold shower, lights out 6 o’clock. It’s the same the next day. That would be my solution.”

2. Using an antisemitic dog whistle to criticise the National Trust

Anderson’s allies in parliament are the ‘Common Sense Group’ – a collection of right wing MPs who are standard bearers for the Tory ‘war on woke’. One of the primary targets of the group’s ire has been the National Trust.

Following the National Trust releasing a report that acknowledged the links between the properties it manages and slavery, members of the Common Sense Group – including Anderson – wrote a letter to the Telegraph criticising the heritage organisation. In their letter, the MPs accused the National Trust of being “coloured by cultural Marxist dogma”.

The term cultural Marxism has been widely condemned as being derived from a far right, antisemitic conspiracy theory which claims that a group of mostly Jewish 20th century philosophers have been behind movements which seek to undermine the values of the West.

3. Telling food bank users that they can’t budget or cook

In May 2022, Anderson spoke about food banks in the House of Commons. In his contribution to the debate, he argued there was limited need for food banks in the UK, because the real problem was that people are unable to budget or cook.

He said, “I think you’ll see first-hand that there’s not this massive use for food banks in this country. You’ve got generation after generation who cannot cook properly. They can’t cook a meal from scratch. They cannot budget.”

His comments earned him the nickname ’30p Lee’ after he spoke about a food bank in his constituency which provides cooking and budgeting courses along with food. He said, “And what we do at the food bank, we teach them how to cook cheap and nutritious meals on a budget. We can make a meal for about 30p a day, which is cooking from scratch.”

4. Boycotting England games because players were taking the knee

During the 2021 European Football Championship, England players showed their support for anti-racism campaigns by taking the knee before matches. This display of solidarity was sufficiently alienating for Anderson, who committed to boycott the national team’s games.

Anderson said the England team were supporting a “political movement, and said, “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”.

5. Being suspended as a Labour Councillor

Bizarrely, Anderson was previously a member of the Labour Party, serving as a Councillor in Ashfield from 2015. Three years after his election, he was suspended from the Labour Group on the Council.

Anderson was suspended after receiving a community protection warning from Ashfield District Council for using a tractor to place boulders at the entrance of a car park in order to prevent Travellers from setting up an encampment.

Following the suspension, he defected to the Tories. And the rest is history.

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward

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