Lee Anderson shouldn't been suspended, two thirds of Tories say in survey
Rishi Sunak was wrong to suspend Lee Anderson for his vile attack on Sadiq Khan, two thirds of Tory supporters said in a survey.
Mr Anderson had the whip withdrawn the day after he suggested the London Mayor was controlled by Islamists. He sparked anger when he told GB News: "He’s given our capital city away to his mates."
But despite his suspension, he attended a Tory fundraiser with Liz Truss on Friday, and frontbenchers have refused to rule out his being welcomed back. A survey by Conservative Home found that 64% of members think the Ashfield MP shouldn't have been booted out.
The poll of 751 Conservatives found 482 thought Mr Anderson should have remained a Tory MP. Meanwhile 232 - just under 31% - thought it was right to suspend him, and almost 5% didn't know.
Frontbenchers have repeatedly declined to say whether they think Mr Anderson's remarks were Islamophobic - which he denies. At PMQs last week Mr Sunak said he had suspended Mr Anderson “immediately”, after he “heard something he didn’t agree with”.
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But Security Minister Tom Tugendhat went further, telling the Commons last week: "The whip was removed immediately because anti-Muslim hatred is wrong." In spite of the controversy, he was reportedly given a standing ovation on Friday, and a “hug” by Ms Truss when he arrived.
Mr Sunak won't discipline either Ms Truss or Brendan Clarke-Smith, who hosted the event. There has been speculation that Mr Anderson could join Reform UK, which he has refused to rule out.
Jonathan Ashworth, Labour's shadow paymaster general, said: "It beggars belief that, far from being suspended from the Tories as Rishi Sunak told us, here he is: Lee Anderson, parading around the North Notts rubber chicken circuit with none other than Liz Truss. Given Rishi Sunak deems Mr Anderson as unfit to be a Tory MP, he now needs to bar him from fundraising for the Tory Party.
"Unless he takes action, Rishi Sunak will again be exposed as weaker than ever, and out of control of his chaotic, divided party."
It comes at a troubling time for the PM, after the Conservatives hit their lowest polling score on record. A poll published by Ipsos UK on Monday suggested just 20% of the public would vote for the Tories at the next election, down seven points since January.
It is the lowest score recorded by the party since Ipsos started its regular polling in 1978. The figure is even lower than the 23% recorded in December 2022, shortly after Mr Sunak replaced Liz Truss as Prime Minister.
This puts the Conservatives 27 points behind Labour, who are on 47%. Ipsos's previous lowest score for the Conservatives was 22%, recorded by John Major in December 1994 and May 1995, only a few years before Tony Blair's landslide win in 1997.
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