Yes, I can believe stabbings in Surbiton, Chessington and Biggin Hill are on the rare side. As I say, the average explodes upwards because of Inner London figures.
please log in to view this image anon_opin @anon_opin · 30 Dec 2023 Outside looking in, the UK is a failing state circling the drain. I really don't understand why the people of Britain aren't rioting. There is so much corruption in power, so much failing infrastructure, but the people just sit there and take it like they're sedated. Bizarre.
rats sinking ship Lee Anderson: Ex-Tory MP defects to Reform UK Published 7 hours ago Share Media caption, Former Tory deputy chairman defects to Reform Party By Sam Francis Political reporter, BBC News Ex-Conservative Party deputy chairman Lee Anderson has defected to Reform UK. Mr Anderson was suspended as a Conservative MP after refusing to apologise for claims Islamists had "control" of London Mayor Sadiq Khan. The defection ends weeks of speculation about the Ashfield MP and TV presenter's future. Mr Anderson said he had been given the chance to "speak out in Parliament on behalf of millions of people up and down the country" who support Reform. Profile of outspoken MP Lee Anderson Tories suspend MP over 'Islamists' comments Lee Anderson defection lends momentum to Reform UK He becomes Reform UK's first ever MP, representing a party polling around 10% of national voting intention. Speaking at a press conference, Mr Anderson said he was "prepared to gamble on myself" because he said he knew "how many people support Reform and what they have to say". "All I want is my country back," he added. Reform UK founder and honorary president Nigel Farage said called the defection "huge". He said: "I don't think Westminster really understands this yet." Mr Anderson ruled out calling a by-election in his own seat, telling the BBC it "would be pretty reckless for me to suggest a by-election when we could have a general election in May". Two years ago, Mr Anderson backed a failed bid to let constituents trigger a by-election when their MP changes parties. Home Secretary James Cleverly said Mr Anderson had "made a real mistake" in defecting from the Conservatives. "Reform is not the answer," he added. Mr Cleverly said he agreed with Mr Anderson's comments from January this year, when he said a "vote for Reform will only let the Labour party in". Red Wall 'champion' Mr Anderson was elected in 2019 to the Red Wall seat of Ashfield with a 5,700 vote majority - having previously served as a Labour councillor for his home town. The son of a coal miner, Mr Anderson belonged to Arthur Scargill's National Union of Mineworkers. His first job in politics was working in the office of local Labour MP Gloria De Piero, serving as district councillor at the same time. After switching to the Conservative Party, the staunch Brexit supporter became an ally of former prime minister Boris Johnson. He was made deputy chairman of the Conservative Party in February last year, but resigned in January to rebel against Rishi Sunak's Rwanda bill. Announcing Mr Anderson's defection, Reform UK Leader Richard Tice said his party had founds a "champion" for its plans to supplant the Conservatives in the Red Wall. Mr Anderson was a "person of great integrity", Mr Tice added. The Reform leader said: "I think millions of British people endorsed the concerns and sentiments of what Lee was saying, which is that we are sick and tired of our streets being taken over by these pro-Hamas, extremist, antisemitic people and Islamist extremists." Reform UK has confirmed he will stand for Ashfield in the general election, superseding Henry Grisewood - who the party had initially chosen. please log in to view this image IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Image caption, Ex-miner Lee Anderson joined the Conservative Party having previously worked for a Labour MP Pat McFadden, Labour's National Campaign Coordinator, said Mr Anderson's defection showed "the Conservatives are falling apart". "The truth is that the prime minister is too weak to lead a party too extreme to be led," he said. Some of Mr Anderson's former colleagues criticised his defection - saying it made "a less conservative Britain more likely". The New Conservatives, made up mostly of 2019 Tory Red Wall MPs like Mr Anderson, said "the responsibility for Lee's defection sits with the Conservative Party". In a statement, the group argued the Tory party's failure to stick to the promises of the 2019 general election had led to split in the party. Mr Anderson sparked a backlash after he claimed last month that the capital had been "taken over" amid the weekly pro-Palestinian protests over the war in Gaza. In an interview with GB News, Mr Anderson said: "I don't actually believe that these Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is that they've got control of Khan, they've got control of London. "He's actually given our capital city away to his mates." Mr Anderson was stripped of the Tory whip after he refused to apologise for the remarks. He instead doubled down on his comments although conceded his phrasing was "clumsy". Analysis by BBC chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman Lee Anderson's decision to join Reform is unquestionably a significant blow for Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives. Despite having no MPs and just a small handful of councillors, Reform are reliably polling around 10%. That is a high enough figure that some Conservative MPs believe it is as important for them to win back voters they are losing to Reform as it is those who are switching to Labour. By giving Reform a parliamentary figurehead for the first time, Mr Anderson may make it harder for the Conservatives to reunite the right. There are some important caveats. Most importantly, Mr Anderson is not making his defection from a position of strength. He was suspended from the Conservative ranks at Westminster after accusing Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, of being controlled by Islamists. Mr Anderson refused to apologise for his comments, making his suspension all but inevitable. There was grumbling from some Conservatives who wanted Mr Anderson to be handed a clear path back into the fold - but any such route would almost certainly have required him to apologise, which he again refused to do today. It's also worth noting that while Mr Anderson is well-known in Westminster for his pugnacious style, and has a show on GB News, he is not exactly a major national figure. Arguably a more worrying announcement for the Conservatives would have been the return of Nigel Farage to active campaigning duties. Yet one person who definitely does rate Mr Anderson's ability to connect with a slice of the British public is the prime minister himself. Mr Sunak appointed Mr Anderson a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party in February last year. And as recently as January Mr Anderson starred with him in a campaign video about how "we should be so proud of our country". Mr Sunak clearly thought Mr Anderson could prove an electoral asset. We will now find out whether he was right.
Same as Captain Integrity Mr Beale? Ex-Labour councillor and ex-Tory Deputy Chairman changing his spots again...
Politics students will be studying the circumstances that led to this oaf having a massive platform and senior position in government for a long time. Wonder how much Tice paid him. Nice little earner for a few months of tweeting about what a genuine bloke you are and how the ‘silent majority’ are as bigoted as you are I’m sure. Hope he’s ok being surrounded by all those horrible Labour MPs who said mean things that time.
Tory donor caught out with a rare occurrence of the japes in the Carlton Club coming out. Does Rishi return the donations and cut ties or circle the wagons and waits for the next thing to bury it?
Number 10 says that Hester's comments were unacceptable, but can't say why. It's like the 30p Lee thing all over again.
I'm sure that the Minister for Women and Equalities will be all over such sexist and racist comments by the Tories' top donor.
Yes, were Hester's comments racist? Don't bother to answer, of course they were. They were sexist too. Why can't Sunak say so?
Does that make it okay, then? Abbott was kicked out of the Labour party, Sunak's still taking money from Hester. Why won't the Minister for Women and Equalities take a hand? Ah yes, because she's a racist, too.
