Lee Anderson's defection shows the deep Conservative divide as Sunak's authority crumbles, writes Daisy Cooper MP
11 March 2024, 12:23 | Updated: 11 March 2024, 12:26
- Daisy Cooper is the Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and MP for St Albans
Today is the final nail in the coffin for Rishi Sunak’s authority over his own party.
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Lee Anderson’s defection to Reform UK says more about the current state of the Conservative Party than anything else.
The Conservative Party has moved so far to the right that you can’t fit a cigarette paper between them and the party of Nigel Farage.
The ripple effects of this lurch to the hard right are being felt across the country, not least in the Blue Wall, where the Liberal Democrats are the key challengers to the Conservative Party.
Former lifelong Conservative voters are switching to the Liberal Democrats in their droves because they can’t stomach a Conservative Party which each day sounds more like Nigel Farage.
Let’s not forget that just a few weeks ago, Lee Anderson was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party at the personal appointment of Rishi Sunak, putting him at the heart of trying to revive the Conservative's doomed campaign.
Since then, his views have not changed and nor have the views of his Conservative colleagues in Parliament. There will most likely be more Conservative MPs who back Lee Anderson over his vile Islamophobic comments.
Rishi Sunak’s authority has been in tatters for some time and this episode is just the latest instalment in this never-ending Conservative psychodrama.
Voters are sick to the back teeth of it and if the Prime Minister cannot even govern his own party, it’s clear he can’t govern our great country.
The wheels are falling off this Conservative government. Rishi Sunak must put an end to this farce and call a General Election.
The country cannot wait any longer. Our crumbling NHS services cannot wait any longer.
We need this lot out of power before they do any more harm to our public services, our national unity and our standing in the world.
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