Thread by @MattCarr55

Let’s have a look at the ‘way of life’ Lee Anderson wants to defend, shall we ? The former Labour councillor-turned-conservative certainly has a colourful record

https://twitter.com/spectator/status/1400791948097511425

In 2021, he was appointed to the Women and Equalities Committee, even though he had previously been reprimanded by the party: mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…

In 2019 he was caught on video setting up a supposedly impromptu doorstep with a constituent he already knew: theguardian.com/politics/2019/…

According to a misconduct dossier from his own party in 2020: ‘You visited that friend's home with a journalist… with the intention of appearing to show how you were able to persuade that person to vote Conservative when in fact he was always going to do so.’

The same dossier added: ‘The whole thing was a sham, intended by you and your friend to deceive both the journalist and the voting public.' dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7…

Earlier this year Anderson was one of two Tory MPs who took part in training to give them ‘greater awareness in what constitutes anti-Jewish racism’ following an investigation into Anderson’s participation in an allegedly antisemitic FB discussion: thejc.com/news/uk/two-co…

In 2019 Anderson came up with a novel solution to the problem of ‘nuisance tenants’ - well not that novel, since working for 12 hours without pay is generally regarded as slavery: standard.co.uk/news/politics/…

By now no one will be surprised that Anderson once blocked a road with boulders to stop travellers from setting up a camp - another threat to ‘our way of life’ no doubt: nottinghampost.com/news/local-new…

Naturally he thinks the BBC is ‘rotten’ and won’t pay the license fee to ‘a celebrity cult where they pedal out this leftwing nonsense’

Here’s our man again, asked to comment on Gary Lineker’s call to take in more refugees - a statement Talk Radio calls ‘virtue signalling.’ Naturally Anderson agrees, and offers to send them all to Lineker’s house. Brilliant! So cuttingly original! fb.watch/5XuWB_hXjC/

In short, Anderson is located very firmly in that murky zone where the Tory Party merges with the far right and it’s difficult to tell the two apart. Ok I know that zone includes most of the party now but never mind. Because Anderson is a ‘Red Wall’ Tory, a former coal miner

So when he spouts out reactionary sexist filth or recycles fascist tropes about ‘cultural Marxism’ it has a salt-of-the-earth ‘plain speaker’ authenticity which appeals to posh Tories who have suddenly discovered the ‘idea of North’ or at least the Midlands

And that is why The Spectator has published his cri de coeur about BLM and Anderson’s ‘beloved England.’ Straight from the working class mouth and delivered in a northern accent ‘Our English way of life is under threat!’ Don’t say Fraser and co don’t know what they’re doing

They have their reasons. But we shouldn’t be fooled. Because this is culture war deja vu all over again. And as Maya Angelou once said ‘When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time’...and treat them with the contempt that they deserve.