Lee Anderson (British politician)

Lee Anderson (born 6 January 1967) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield since 2019. He previously served as a Labour District Councillor in Ashfield and later and Conservative Councillor in Mansfield.

Lee Anderson

MP
Anderson in 2019
Member of Parliament
for Ashfield
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byGloria De Piero
Majority5,733 (11.7%)
Personal details
Born (1967-01-06) 6 January 1967
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative (from March 2018)
Other political
affiliations		Labour (Until March 2018)
Spouse(s)Sinead[1]
ChildrenCharlie
Harry[1]
EducationAshfield School[2]
OccupationPolitician
Websitewww.leeanderson.org.uk

Career

Anderson, a former coal miner, was a long-time Labour Party member and served as a councillor in the Huthwaite and Brierly ward of Ashfield where he was elected in 2015.[3] Anderson also worked as office manager for the Ashfield Labour MP at the time, Gloria De Piero, having campaigned alongside her for the 2015 and 2017 UK general elections. Unlike the majority of the Ashfield Constituency Labour Party, Anderson was a vocal Brexiteer having supported the Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 EU Referendum. He defected to the Conservatives in March 2018,[4] later being elected as the Conservative councillor for the Oakham ward in Mansfield, a neighbouring district, following the May 2019 local elections.

In July 2019, he was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Ashfield.[5] He was elected as a Conservative MP in the 2019 general election, succeeding his former boss, Gloria De Piero, who stood down before the election.[6] Anderson won with a majority of 5,733 votes, with the Ashfield Independent Party candidate, Jason Zadrozny coming in second place and Labour dropping to third place. This was the first time that the Conservatives had won the seat since the 1977 by-election.

During the election, he made controversial statements where in the wake of a murder on Carsic council estate, he suggested nuisance tenants should live in tents and pick potatoes.[7] He was also caught setting up a staged door-knock encounter with a friend whilst being filmed by Michael Crick, [8][9] which he later apologised for.[10] Anderson was one of three Conservative Party candidates investigated by the party over claims of anti-Semitism during the electio campaign.[11] The investigation was opened on the grounds that he was an active member of a Facebook group in which other members supported Tommy Robinson and promoted George Soros conspiracy theories.[12][13]

In June 2020, Anderson was one of a minority of Conservative MPs to vote against the restriction of demonstrations outside abortion clinics.[14]

References
  1. https://www.leeanderson.org.uk/about-lee-anderson
  2. Hill, Henry (21 January 2020). "Boris' Boys and Girls: The Conservative Commons Intake of 2019". Conservative Home. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  3. "District Ward Results 2015". Ashfield District Council. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  4. "Nottinghamshire Labour councillors quit to join Tories". BBC. BBC News. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  5. Andrews, Danielle. "Mansfield councillor aims to become Ashfield's MP". Chad. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  6. Dingwall, Ed (20 July 2019). "Ashfield MP Gloria De Piero to stand down before next General Election". Chad. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  7. "'Nuisance' council tenants 'should live in tents' says Ashfield Tory candidate". BBC. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  8. "Ashfield's Conservative candidate Lee Anderson caught setting up door-knock with friendly voter". www.chad.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  9. "Ashfield candidate faces criticism over 'fake door knock'". BBC. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  10. "Ashfield General Election Debate". SoundClous. Mansfield 103.2. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  11. "General election 2019: Tories probe candidates over anti-Semitism claims". BBC. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  12. Proctor, Kate (7 December 2019). "Tories investigate three candidates over alleged antisemitism". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  13. Mendel, Jack (13 December 2019). "Two Tories win seats despite investigations over antisemitism". Jewish News. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  14. https://votes.parliament.uk/Votes/Commons/Division/801#noes
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Gloria De Piero		 Member of Parliament
for Ashfield
2019–present		 Incumbent
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