Lee Anderson: How many political parties has the Reform MP been a member of?

Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson MP speaks at a press conference, following the announcement that he is defecting to Reform UK. Credit: PA Images

The MP for Ashfield, Lee Anderson, has become a member of a third political party in the space of six years.

Mr Anderson, 57, has joined the Reform UK party, after being kicked out of the Conservative Party last month when he refused to apologise for claiming that “Islamists” had “got control” of London mayor Sadiq Khan.

But for the majority of his life, he was a member of the Labour Party and was elected as a Labour councillor - until he was suspended in 2018.

Here's a look back at Mr Anderson's political history:

  • Labour, pre-2018

Mr Anderson described himself as having been a "lifelong Labour member", before being elected as a Labour councillor in the 2015 Ashfield District Council elections.

He grew up in Ashfield and worked in the coal mining pits in Nottinghamshire alongside his dad for 10 years after leaving school.

In 2015, Mr Anderson was elected as a district councillor for Huthwaite.

He was then suspended from the party in February 2018 after he received a community-protection warning from the council for using boulders to block members of the Traveller community from "setting up camp at a site in the area".

  • Conservative, February 2018 - March 2024

Mr Anderson defected to the Conservative Party in March 2018, which he stated was in response to the "takeover" of the Labour Party by the hard left.

He was elected as a Conservative councillor on Mansfield District Council, representing the Oakham ward between 2019 and 2021.

Mr Anderson was elected as the MP for Ashfield in the 2019 general election, with a majority of 5,733.

He was the first Conservative to represent the constituency since the 1977 by-election.

Lee Anderson was elected as the MP for Ashfield in 2019. Credit: ITV New Central

Mr Anderson was a controversial voice on the backbenches - from his views on immigration to the cost of living crisis.

Some of his most notable remarks included saying the UK will only have a full economic crisis when Wetherspoons' pubs are empty, during the Conservative party conference in Birmingham in October 2022.

He also made headlines and sparked fury online after his comments suggesting people should learn to better budget their finances and learn to cook, rather than use food banks.

In February 2023, Mr Anderson was made Conservative Party deputy chairman after the prime minister carried out a mini reshuffle.

But he stood down from the role in January to vote against the government's Rwanda deportation plan, which he believed needed toughening up.

Then came the comments which would end his political career with the Tories.

He was suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party last month after refusing to apologise for claiming “Islamists” had “got control” of London mayor Sadiq Khan.

  • Reform UK, March 2024

After weeks of speculation about a possible defection, Mr Anderson joined Reform UK - giving the party its first MP.

Mr Anderson told a Reform UK press conference "I want my country back". Credit: ITV News

At a press conference on Monday 11 March, Mr Anderson started his speech by saying: “I want my country back.

“Over the last year or so I’ve had to do a lot of soul-searching on my political journey.

“I don’t expect much in politics other than to be able to speak my mind.”

At the press conference, he told ITV News Central political correspondent Alison Mackenzie that his inbox is "absolutely solid with support", with constituents in Ashfield backing him in the next general election.

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