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Ashfield MP Lee Anderson was suspended from the Tory party on Sunday after refusing to apologise for saying Islamists had “got control” over London mayor Sadiq Khan. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Mr. Anderson’s remarks “weren’t acceptable, they were wrong” and withdrew the whip.
As Mr Anderson himself has admitted, his words were “clumsy”. Or, as Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg put it, “infelicitous” but that he should not have had the party whip withdrawn. Meanwhile, the media went into meltdown; what would Lee Anderson do now, would he apologise, will the whip be reinstated, or would he defect to Reform?
Fascinating as all this is, whether Mr Anderson should apologise or not and what he does now is a matter for him. All we would say is that we should not allow ourselves to be distracted and diverted away from the underlying issue. As our President and founder, Lord Green, put it in a (unpublished) letter to The Times this week on the public’s concerns about what is happening in the Middle East:
“They may also be concerned about the scale of demonstrations on the streets of Britain. One aspect of this is our rapidly growing Muslim population. Since the 2001 census when religion was first asked [in the census], the Muslim population of the UK has more than doubled from 3 million to 6.5 million in 2021. The time has surely come to recognise the wider political and social impact of the large-scale immigration that is now taking place.”
What is also clear is that notwithstanding his “infelicitous” language, Mr Anderson reflected the views and sentiment of millions of people up and down the land. What the brouhaha has also highlighted is the stark disconnect between the political class and the everyday concerns and feelings of ordinary people – something Mr Anderson understands perfectly. No doubt Mr Anderson’s ten years in the pits of Nottinghamshire, brings a unique perspective to the political arena. He understands the true duties of a parliamentarian, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind, even if it means ruffling feathers. His directness and honesty are qualities that should be celebrated, not punished.
This is a preview of Migration Watch’s free weekly newsletter. Please consider signing up to the newsletter directly, you can do so here and will receive an email copy of the newsletter every Friday as soon as it is released.