When Lee Anderson was made deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, it was on the understanding that he’d explode now and again. Say something outrageous, cause a stir. The unelected Rishi Sunak had a wide coalition to keep together and was mindful that, as a besuited Goldman Sachs alumnus, he may struggle to keep the right of the party (and the electorate) on board. Occasional outbursts from Suella Braverman and Lee Anderson were helpful to him: they were chaff and flares which would save him from incoming missiles from the right.

But Sunak was up against the strong centripetal forces pulling right-wing politicians to the further right. A great many politicians have decided that, pace Trump, the future lies in being angry and living outside the Overton window. So they engage in what you might call vice signalling, the opposite of virtue signalling. They say murky stuff that they don’t necessarily believe, to establish their credentials as a truth-speaking bad boy (or girl) and nemesis of the establishment.

Such a tactic carries danger. It means decency is left behind in pursuit of the idea that if something is unsayable then it has to be said. But in telling GB News that Islamists are friends with and have ‘got control’ of Sadiq Khan, Lee Anderson crossed a line that does merit his dismissal. It was a point made to Sunak by other Tories saying they’d go public and call for Anderson’s firing themselves.

A kind interpretation is to say that he was speaking more broadly. He was commenting on Suella Braverman’s recent Telegraph article, ‘Islamists are bullying Britain into submission’, and saying that they don’t control Britain but do control Khan and Starmer (because he asked for an amendment on the debate last Wednesday). But the comment on Starmer, too, was disgusting. Starmer wanted a vote so as to quell a rebellion and escape a trap set for him by the SNP.

QOSHE - The Tory party is right to suspend Lee Anderson - Fraser Nelson
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The Tory party is right to suspend Lee Anderson

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24.02.2024

When Lee Anderson was made deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, it was on the understanding that he’d explode now and again. Say something outrageous, cause a stir. The unelected Rishi Sunak had a wide coalition to keep together and was mindful that, as a besuited Goldman Sachs alumnus, he may struggle to keep the right of the party (and the electorate) on board. Occasional outbursts from Suella Braverman and Lee Anderson were helpful to him: they were chaff and flares which........

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