A Tory MP appears to have endorsed Reform’s Lee Anderson, after his former colleague promised not to campaign against him.
Mr Anderson – who jumped ship after losing the Tory whip in February – posted on Facebook that he would not campaign with his new party at the next election in four seats won by the Conservatives in 2019, as the MPs in place would “always be my friends”.
One of them, Doncaster’s Nick Fletcher, then responded in a post on X, saying the Ashfield MP had been his constituency’s “greatest champion”, and he hoped voters “appreciate what he has done for his home town and his country at the next election”.
He added that “we both need to be back in Westminster” after the national ballot, expected later this year, along with the three other MPs cited by Mr Anderson – Mansfield MP Ben Bradley, Dudley North MP Marco Longhi and Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith.
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Mr Fletcher is now facing questions over his remarks – especially as the Conservatives will stand their own candidate in Mr Anderson’s seat.
The Tories‘ code of conduct says: “No member of the Conservative Party is allowed to oppose a Conservative Party candidate in any election.
“Also, they are not allowed to act as the agent of such a person. To do either is to commit a serious disciplinary offence.”
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After reports spread of Mr Fletcher getting a talking to by the chief whip, the MP later tweeted: “For the avoidance of any doubt, of course I want to see a Conservative majority government returned at the next election, with as many Conservative MPs as possible.
“Lee is a personal friend but we can’t risk the damage a Labour government would do to our country. Just look at what the Labour council has done to Doncaster.”
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Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper said voters were “sick to the back teeth of this never-ending circus of in-fighting”, and Mr Fletcher should have the whip withdrawn.
“It seems even Conservative MPs don’t want the Conservatives to win,” she added. “Rishi Sunak needs to find his backbone and kick Nick Fletcher out of the Conservative Party.
“Failure to do so would show yet again that he’s too weak to control his party let alone govern the country.”
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A spokesperson for Reform revealed Mr Anderson had “made it clear” since he joined the party that he would “not personally campaign against a handful of his close friends”.
They added: “The party respect this decision and it shows Lee’s loyalty to his friends, which goes beyond politics.”
But they insisted Reform would still be standing candidates in the four seats, and planned to “punish” the Conservatives at the next election.
Sky News has contacted the Conservatives for a response.
