Anderson says he will not campaign in friends’ seats

Reform MP Lee Anderson has revealed he will not be campaigning in certain Tory constituencies due to his friendships with the current MPS.

The former Tory deputy chairman defected to Reform earlier this year, after he was stripped of the whip for suggesting London Mayor Sadiq Khan was being controlled by Islamist extremists.

Recent polls have put Reform just several points behind the Conservatives, with some fearing the rightwing populist party could make further gains if its founder Nigel Farage takes on a more prominent role.

This comes as Reform UK said it is “mortified” to have sacked a candidate for being inactive, before discovering he had died.

Announcing a nonaggression pact, the Ashfield MP said he will not be campaigning against four Tory MPS in the next general election because “friendship means more”.

Mr Anderson described Tory MPS Ben Bradley (Mansfield), Brendan Clarke-smith (Bassetlaw), Marco Longhi (Dudley North) and Nick Fletcher (Don Valley) as friends, adding they had reached out to him following his defection.

The party said it respects Mr Anderson’s decision but will continue with its election campaigns in these seats.

Mr Anderson is a former Labour councillor and he served as office manager to Ashfield’s last Labour MP, Gloria De Piero.

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Lee Anderson made it clear from the day he joined Reform UK that he would not personally campaign against a handful of his close friends. The party respect this decision and it shows Lee’s loyalty, which goes beyond politics.

“Reform will be standing in these constituencies and will be fighting the Conservatives across the board in England, Wales and Scotland.”