'Man of the people' Lee Anderson takes £15k donation from posh members club

28 January 2023 , 17:11

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He's been nicknamed "30p Lee" over his remarks about foodbanks (Image: Tom Maddick SWNS)

‘Man of the people’ Lee Anderson took a £15,000 donation from one of Westminster’s poshest private members clubs, official documents reveal.

The Ashfield MP sparked fury this week by claiming foodbank users squander their money on “fags and booze”.

And he came under fire after he used one of his staff members to make an argument that nurses should not be using foodbanks.

He posted a picture of his employee Katy, claiming she earned £30,000 a year and did not need to use a foodbank.

But it can now be revealed he accepted a donation worth half his staffer’s annual salary from the exclusive Carlton Club.

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Labour Party Chair Anneliese Dodds said: “Lee Anderson’s constituents will be surprised to hear about this big money donation. It seems like this self-styled ‘man of the people’ is no different from the countless other Conservative MPs happy to accept cash from a swanky members-only Mayfair club. He’s just as out of touch as they are.”

The newly published register of Members’ Interests shows the club handed Mr Anderson a £15,000 donation for “local campaigning”.

The club became infamous last year, after former whip Chris Pincher was accused of groping two men there in June.

Last month, the club unveiled a portrait of Boris Johnson, who stepped down as Prime Minister just days later after heavy criticism of his handling of the scandal.

In May the Sunday Mirror revealed Mr Anderson had bought a lavish, six-bedroom house just months before suggesting poor people struggle to afford food because they don't know how to cook or budget.

Mr Anderson told the Sunday Mirror: “I am raising money through private donations to employ a member of staff for my campaign team.

“Obviously I am not able to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds as some Labour MPs do through unions but rest assured if and when I have enough money I will employ a local person and pay them a decent wage from my donations.”

Mikey Smith