You won't believe the reason he gave for abstaining on the Rwanda Bill
Tory MP Lee Anderson has been making headlines this week. The MP – known for his outrageous comments and hard right positions on culture war issues – resigned as deputy chair of the Conservative Party in order to vote with right wing MPs on amendments to the Rwanda Bill.
Although those amendments didn’t pass, he ultimately didn’t vote against the Rwanda Bill. Instead, he abstained.
Speaking to GB News, Anderson revealed the deeply principled reason behind his decision to abstain.
“I was going to vote no. I went into the no lobby to vote no, because I couldn’t see how I could support the bill after backing all the amendments,” Anderson said.
He then continued: “I got into the no lobby and I spent about two or three minutes with a colleague in there. The Labour lot were giggling and laughing and taking the mick and I couldn’t do it: In my heart of hearts, I couldn’t vote no. So I walked out and abstained.”
He went on to say: “I wanted to vote no, but when I saw that lot in there laughing there’s no way I could support them above the party that’s given me a political home.”
It hardly fills you with confidence in the calibre of British parliamentarians when their voting decisions are made on the basis of whether MPs from other parties are making fun of them…
In the end, despite all the noise about a large scale rebellion, only 11 Tory MPs voted against the Rwanda Bill at its third reading.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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