Labour mockery that put rebel off his stride
FORMER Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson abstained rather than vote against the Rwanda Bill after Labour mocked him.
The Conservative MP, who quit his role to back amendments to strengthen the legislation to send small boat migrants to East Africa, had planned to oppose it.
But after Labour MPs ‘giggled and laughed’ at him in the lobby to vote with them, he has revealed he changed his mind.
His decision meant just 11 of his fellow Tory rebels voted against the third reading of the Bill declaring Rwanda a safe country, meaning it passed comfortably.
It capped a night of high drama in Westminster on Wednesday in which Rishi Sunak faced a major challenge to his authority.
In the end, the uprising petered out but not without allegations of dirty tricks and attempted collaborations with Labour.
Mr Anderson’s resignation on Tuesday, together with his fellow deputy chairman Brendan ClarkeSmith, triggered fears the Bill would not pass. This could have questioned the Prime Minister’s ability to govern and could have prompted an early general election.
Mr Anderson, who once worked for the Labour Party, said he had decided to vote against the Bill before ex-colleagues put him off.
He told GB News: ‘I was going to vote ‘No’ because I couldn’t see how I could support the Bill after backing all the amendments.
‘I got into the lobby. I spent about two or three minutes with a colleague in there. The Labour lot were giggling and laughing and taking the mick and I couldn’t do it. In my heart of hearts, I could not vote ‘No’. So I walked out, so I’ve abstained.
‘When I saw that lot in there laughing, there’s no way I could support them above the party that’s given me a political home.’
Most dramatically, members of the rebel camp were accused of collaborating with the Labour whips to derail the third reading by voting against a clause.
Had they been successful, the Bill might have been delayed, giving the rebels more time to force the PM to toughen it.
Some Tory MPs were furious
when they found out about the ‘plot’ – with former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith reportedly calling it a ‘suicide mission’.
But after the whips got wind of the move, they instructed immigration minister Michael Tomlinson and Tory MPs to speak until late to thwart the attempt.
In the end, the attempt – and the rebellion – fizzled out. A Tory source said: ‘These people make up ten per cent of the party and they make 90 per cent of the noise.’ Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who quit his role and tabled many of the amendments before voting against the Bill, was seen with a ‘face like thunder’.
Among those who missed the vote was former prime minister Theresa May, who was in Davos at the World Economic Forum.
She was asked to return but sources said she could not get back in time. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delayed his trip to Switzerland to support the Government.