[davidjay]

He ought to name Paul Scully here, but otherwise well done.

It wouldn't be the biggest shock in the world if he defected once he's lost the Mayoral election.

[Tubby Isaacs]

You think he'll lose? You're much closer to it than me, but provided the general election isn't on the same day, I think he's got a good chance, especially under FPTP.

[mattomac]

I assume they think there is votes in being massively racist to a certain group, that plays well with a small percentage of their already dwindling voter base.

I didn’t have them down as following the Jeremy Corbyn campaign playbook but there you go.

[Yug]

Openly racist cunt refuses to rule out being more openly racist

Lee Anderson has refused to rule out joining Reform UK after he was suspended by the Tories for suggesting Sadiq Khan is controlled by Islamists.

The former Tory deputy chairman also criticised the party for not showing him a "bit more backing".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68400775.amp

[Abernathy]

So, 30p will have gone from being a Labour councillor, to a Tory MP, to a bit of “Reform UK” cannon fodder.

I suppose you might say that he will finally have found his true level.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

In my New Statesman daily briefing email:

Lee Anderson doubled down on his comments that Islamists controlled Sadiq Khan on GB News last night.
Anderson admitted that his words were “clumsy” but refused to apologise. Instead, he pretended he said something else: that Khan had lost control of the streets – which is completely different to saying Islamists control Khan.

Anderson’s refusal to get in line means this scandal is not going away. But the government is also making things worse for itself. Michael Tomlinson – the illegal migration minister who once said “lots of goals were scored” at a 1-1 football draw – refused six times on LBC this morning to specify why Anderson’s remarks were wrong. He malfunctioned. Nick Ferrari called the interview off. This was not an isolated incident.

The root of the problem seems to be that the government does not feel comfortable with the phrase “Islamophobia”, presumably over concerns it could be used to shut down criticism of Islam, not only hatred directed towards Muslims. But Conservatives also seem reluctant to use the more precise phrase “anti-Muslim bigotry” or “anti-Muslim hatred”. Instead of explaining the reason they don’t want to use the word “Islamophobia” while condemning the comments themselves, however, the exact reason why Anderson’s comments were wrong goes unaddressed. And the media questioning continues.

This all reflects a more fundamental split within the party. Anderson said something interesting in his GB News interview: he compared the rise of pro-Palestinian protests – which he erroneously conflated with Islamists – to the unions in the 1970s and 1980s. Not a fair comparison, sure. But that’s not the point. The point is that there are many in the Conservative Party who would like to fight the next election on the 1974-style question: “who governs Britain?” Parliament? Or the European Courts, the international organisations and the Islamists? No 10 wants to fight the election on the economy while keeping those in the party sympathetic to Anderson onside. Many in the party think it has not done enough of the latter – and if defeat comes, they will feel vindicated.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Nick Ferrari chucks a minister off his programme for not answering the question 'was Anderson Islamophobic?'.

Not a popular opinion here, I suspect, but Ferrari isn't all bad, as can be seen when he guests on Sophy Ridge's Sky giig.

[mattomac]

I'm surprised the government wants to fight the election on the economy.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I'm surprised the government wants to fight the election on the economy.

Sunak's right about that., however much it's struggling. If they don't then the Opposition fill the void without having to answer any difficult questions.

[Crabcakes]

So, 30p will have gone from being a Labour councillor, to a Tory MP, to a bit of “Reform UK” cannon fodder.

I suppose you might say that he will finally have found his true level.

In future encyclopaedia entries, for ‘downward spiral’ there’ll just be a photo of 30p Lee.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Does Red Wall Lee not think that the comparison of trade unions to Islamists might backfire at all? Even in the 80s, the unions weren't anything like the only focus- the economy was much more important.

[The Weeping Angel]

Apparently this is an attempt to get kicked out and play the victim.

[Watchman]

My money's on him getting caught leaving a Travelodge just off the A1 in the company of a particularly cheap and unfussy sex worker.

Okay, so Holiday Inn, Jct 28, M1, South Normanton, near enough

[Tubby Isaacs]

Pretty obvious he's going to join Reform. It may not be as good for them as they think.

For a start, he's going to come under enormous pressure to fight a by-election, like Carswell and Reckless did. And he's way nastier than either of those two were when they defected. Carswell seems to have been popular in his constituency, whereas Lee just dicks about on the telly. And there's not Brexit to fall back on if asked a serious question, which Farage did very well. And of course Farage had been doing his anti-EU thing since 1993. It would be Anderson's third party in about 6 years.

And Anderson of course isn't very bright. Might not help Reform much to have him as their face.

[Tubby Isaacs]

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ben Habib doesn't seem exactly cock a hoop at the prospect of Anderson joining.

[Yug]

So now we have a prejudiced person who practises, you know, divisive politics accusing the mayor of London of being a prejudiced person who practises divisive politics.

Are irony meters cheap on Temu at the moment? Mine just went BANG!

[Crabcakes]

30p Lee apparently met Tice the day after losing the whip. Where? A Holiday Inn.

Must be great being a multimillionaire.

[satnav]

I think the Holiday Inn they met at is regarded as a bit of a knocking shop. Because it is close to the M1 a lot of businessmen use it if they are having affairs or meeting up with hookers. So it id probably the perfect place for Anderson and Tice to meet.
What I don't understand is why they didn't just have a chat at the GB News studio where they both work.

[davidjay]

It's the invariable endgame of the Saga of a Populist I referred to the other day. When they eventually go too far even for the employer who's been egging them on they end up coining it in as a big fish in a small pool.