The Conversation (0)
Kate Plummer
Feb 07, 2023
Tory MP Lee Anderson challenges anti-Brexit protester to a boxing match
content.jwplatform.com
Yes it is 7 February not 1 April, yes this sounds bonkers, but Lee Anderson has been made deputy chairman of the Conservative party.
Yes, as part of his little reshuffle, prime minister Rishi Sunak has given the gig to Anderson of all people, despite being known for a number of unsavoury things.
These include repeatedly appearing to play down the cost of living crisis (hence the nickname 30p Lee) and staging a door knock during the 2019 general election campaign.
And his bizarre appointment comes as part of a wider reshuffle which saw Greg Hands replace Nadhim Zahawi (for obvious reasons) as party chairman and the break-up of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Department for International Trade as well as a switch round of some other ministers.
Give his multiple controversies, here's how people reacted to Anderson being given a seat at the table:
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\u201cIs this because they've lost 40% of donations so they're hoping 30p Lee can fund the entire party on less than a \u00a31?\u201d— Tiernan Douieb (@Tiernan Douieb) 1675777908
\u201cThis is flat out trolling, in part, fringe management, in part, but it\u2019s also a defensive acknowledgment that Lee\u2019s divisive, violent, pseudo-butch nonsense stimulates a Neanderthal part of the Tory base that Sunak now actively wants to appease. It\u2019s a dangerous development. ~AA\u201d— Best for Britain (@Best for Britain) 1675777904
\u201cUPDATE: he\u2019s been handed a deck chair https://t.co/sHHweiocir\u201d— Angela Rayner \ud83c\udf39 (@Angela Rayner \ud83c\udf39) 1675780800
\u201cThe new deputy chairman of the board.\u201d— THE SECRET TORY \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 (@THE SECRET TORY \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7) 1675779811
\u201c@DominicPenna @lewis_goodall\u201d— Dominic Penna (@Dominic Penna) 1675777069
\u201c@Conservatives @LeeAndersonMP_ The very definition of scraping the barrel.\u201d— Conservatives (@Conservatives) 1675776930
\u201cNEW: Rishi Sunak appoints Lee Anderson, a red wall rottweiler, as deputy Conservative chair. \n\nMany Tory MPs will feel the appointment of '30p Lee', a nickname he was given after controversial comments about cost of living crisis, can only end one way...\u201d— Pippa Crerar (@Pippa Crerar) 1675777470
\u201cAnd then he made 30pLee the new Deputy Chair of the Tory party\u2026\u2026\u2026\u201d— Robert Bob 3.5% Remainer. (@Robert Bob 3.5% Remainer.) 1675777606
Reacting to his appointment, Anderson tweeted: "Yes it's true. From the Pits to Parliament. Feeling very proud."
Sunak's mission of "integrity, professionalism and accountability" is going well, then.
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