From ‘f*** off to France’ to 30p meals– five times Lee Anderson enraged the Left

There are few if any politicians who trigger leftwingers in the way Lee Anderson, the 56-year-old MP for Ashfield, can. His mere presence on a university campus would probably lead to a bunch of woke students seeking counselling. Perhaps only Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage attract more vehemence and hatred from the Twitterati and leftwing broadcast commentators who can barely contain their sneers when discussing the working-class former miner. But this week again Mr Anderson has shown why he revels in the hatred he provokes which is balanced out by adulation from the right of politics. That is reflected in the fact that he is by far the most popular choice for guest speakers at constituency fundraising events for colleagues. His intervention on the illegal migrants not wanting to go into barges somehow captured the thoughts of most of Britain but even that is not the most annoyed he has made people in Labour and on the Left. Anderson said migrants who did not like the Bibby Stockholm barge should go back to France (Image: Getty) 1. ‘F*** of back to France!’ After almost four days of solid outrage, it is hard to believe that Mr Anderson’s brief but brutally honest opinion on migrants not going into the Bibby Stockholm barge is only fifth on the list of things which enraged the Left. Whether it is leftwing keyboard warriors, Labour politicians or BBC, Sky and ITV journalists , Anderson appears to have infuriated them all. Yet what did he say to cause this angst? As he pointed out afterwards France is not spending nearly as much as the UK on accommodating illegal migrants putting them in small tents of shanties. Of course, those who tried to criticise him referred to “asylum seekers” but as he pointed out they are not asylum seekers they are “illegal migrants.” The top award for worst reaction though goes to Diane Abbott for her later deleted tweet suggesting that Anderson would be happy 41 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean . Anderson was Gloria de Piero’s office manager (Image: Getty) 2. F***ing off to the Tories There’s nothing Labour hates more than “a class traitor”, even now when they are dominated by middle-class students and woke professionals rather than gritty miners. Anderson first came to fame as the Tory candidate who had worked for the previous Labour MP in his seat Gloria de Piero and been a Labour councillor. The story goes that he was once a hard-left Socialist Worker but went for a pint with fellow activists and found out he was the only one who could afford around because he was the only one with a job. “How can you call yourself a Socialist Worker if you don’t work?” was a not-too-unreasonable question. But he has talked about how he raised concerns about how the far Left was infiltrating the party and was told that he better “f*** off to the Tories!” by another Labour councillor. As he pointed out, 18 months later he was that councillor’s MP and had become the face of the collapse of support for Labour in its old Red Wall safe seats. Since then bitter Labour MPs have been trying to portray him as “a fascist” or “far right”. Steve Bray and Anderson have regularly clashed (Image: Getty) 3. Challenging Steve Bray to a boxing match The rivalry between Rejoiner loudmouth protester Steve Bray and Anderson has become the stuff of legend. Anderson has never been afraid to take on Bray, especially during his morning walk to Parliament. He has described the activist as “a malingerer” and made various other colourful observations as Bray shouted into his megaphone and played his music at top volume. Things heated up when Anderson stole Bray’s hat which seemed to give the Remoaner an apparent nervous breakdown. But the peak of the rivalry was when Anderson challenged Bray to a charity boxing match. First Bray said “no”, then “yes” but when GB News offered to broadcast it the Remainer protester backed off again. Lee Anderson made a graphic intervention during the Huw Edwards scandal (Image: Getty) 4. ‘The BBC is a safe haven for perverts!’ When you think that Lee Anderson cannot be more blunt and outspoken he still finds a way to stun people with what former BBC journalist Jon Sopel has described as “a mouth that is licenced to kill”. When the Huw Edwards scandal broke and before details emerged of who it was and exactly what had happened, Anderson seized on the opportunity to demand the BBC licence fee was ended. Justifying the remarks was the way that the Jimmy Saville, Stuart Hall and Rolf Harris sagas had all been able to carry on and possibly be covered up. Sopel and his former BBC colleague John Simpson were outraged by the comment and led the charge over days with lefties backing them up attacking the Tory Deputy Chairman for his words. Of course, is no stranger to clashes with the BBC having already locked horns with Match of the Day’s Gary Lineker , who has criticised him and who in turn Anderson has called to be sacked. Lee Anderson did a Ready, Steady, Cook session to teach families (Image: Youtube) 5. 30p meals Whenever Lee Anderson’s name is trending on Twitter from foaming with rage lefties, it almost always is accompanied by “30p Lee”. This has come from Mr Anderson’s view that working-class people should not have to rely on food banks, benefits and handouts but be able to look after themselves including learning how to cook tasty, nutritious meals cheaply. The project was first covered by the Sunday Express without a huge fanfare from other quarters when fellow Red Wall MPs joined Mr Anderson for a Ready, Steady Cook session, to teach local families helpful skills. The challenge – successfully done – was to show how to cook three meals a day for a family of five for £50 a week with enjoyable food. It took place with young families in a local school and was a success. But then Anderson raised it in Parliament that for about 30p a meal, you could feed a family of five. Of course, the middle-class Waitrose customer left had a meltdown. Labour MPs lined up to condemn him although strangely enough none of them accepted his challenge to visit his constituency and see for themselves. The biggest clash was with “food activist and writer” Jack Monroe, who campaigns on poverty issues and attacked Anderson’s claims. She then threatened to sue him when he accused her of “profiteering from the poor” with her books. Strangely enough, she did not go through with her threat in what became another win for a Tory MP who is becoming a legend among many of his colleagues.