“Attention seeking from the politically inept party."
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson has once again found himself at the centre of online ridicule after posting a tweet declaring: “I agree with me. Vote Reform UK.”
The comment accompanied a post by Nigel Farage who shared footage of Anderson being ejected from the House of Commons after calling Keir Starmer a liar. Anderson, alongside Zarah Sultana, was ordered to leave the chamber during a session on Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, after refusing to withdraw his remarks.
Parliamentary rules on language are longstanding and clear, designed to ensure debate remains robust but respectful. Anderson’s refusal to comply, at the cost of being removed from proceedings, meant forfeiting the chance to press the PM on the Mandelson appointment.
And that seemed to be the general consensus, judging by the responses that came in thick and fast.
One described it as “attention seeking from the politically inept party,” while another criticised Anderson for wasting an opportunity to question the prime minister, opting instead for “name calling and breaking rules that have been in place for hundreds of years.”
Others pointed to the contradiction between calling someone a liar while deploying exaggerated insults, arguing it undermined the credibility of the attack.
A clip of Anderson’s ‘fake door knock’ also resurfaced and was widely shared. The footage, from the 2019 general election, appeared to show the then Conservative candidate for Ashfield staging a doorstep encounter while being accompanied by veteran political reporter Michael Crick.
After visiting a supporter who pledged backing for the Conservatives, Anderson was later heard on microphone phoning the householder ahead of the visit, telling him to “make out you know who I am… but not that you are a friend.”
“It may be two years since Lee Anderson joined Reform, but it’s nearly seven since he lied to a journalist and got his mate to pretend he didn’t know him,” read one widely shared post.
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