Lee Anderson Counted Down

Such is the lack of faith in their own party, and indeed their own brand, that an increasing number of Tory MPs have removed not only references to the dreaded C-Word, as in Conservative, from their social media bios, but have also ditched Tory blue from them, too - in favour of an increasing amount of not-at-all Tory green, or yellow. This move has not gone unnoticed.

The hashtag #ToriesDeletingTory has been doing good business, with the MPs identified including Chloe Smith from Norwich North, and even Jeremy Hunt (the former culture secretary). The level of attention given to this abandonment of the Conservative brand has increased overnight following the involvement of former Countdown co-host Carol Vorderman.

Ms Vorderman is nowadays rather less inclined to the promotion of Herself Personally Now, than to give establishment figures - like Tory MPs and ministers - a hard time over their ineptitude and inability to care about their own brief, notably equalities minister Kemi Badenoch, who dismissed calls to outlaw workplace discrimination on the grounds of menopause, comparing the idea to seeking legal protection for having ginger hair.

She had picked up on Nadhim Zahawi, whose Twitter bio read “Husband. Dad. Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon”, musing “Seems to have gone green and non-Tory on his Twitter profile” and asking her followers “Send me more please … Tories now deleting any reference to Tory”.

And so it came to pass that one of those followers ponied up the example of Ashfield MP for the time being, Lee Anderson, whose bio read “Member of Parliament for Ashfield. All views are my own and the vast majority of the country”. He’s the Tories’ deputy chairman. But no Tory in his bio. Yet.

“So it goes on. Lee Anderson, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party who doesn't tell us which party he is the 'deputy chairman' of? I suspect a rebranding and change from Tory blue this year” she noted, at which point 30p Lee retorted “Think you need to check my bio again … Oh and whilst your [sic] at it act your age”. So what did his bio say now?

“Ex-coal miner and now the proud Conservative Member of Parliament for Ashfield and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party”.Ms Vorderman was unimpressed. “[Lee Anderson MP] quickly changed his bio from NOT including Conservative to now, since my tweet earlier, adding a Tory reference”. It should be noted that the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog did not leap to 30p Lee’s defence this time.

Also, while prodding Anderson about his being rumbled and not covering up at all convincingly, as MSN has noted, “she included screenshots of the Twitter bios of former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Theresa May, none of which appear to mention the Conservative party at this time”. One might expect the deputy chairman to be able to explain that omission.

One might also expect him to explain the abandonment of blue in favour of yellow by Beckenham MP Bob Stewart (of Tory Spreadsheet infamy). Or Bob Seeley from the Isle of Wight going green. Or David Rutley from Macclesfield missing the C-Word from his bio. Maybe the Green Party and the Lib Dems would like to say something about the hijacking of their colours.

Especially given the Tory record on green issues, like the sheep-like voting in favour of allowing the discharge of more and more untreated sewage into the sea (often near bathing beaches), rivers and other water courses. Apparently this is not against the rules, but maybe it should be. One might have expected supposed straight talkers like Lee Anderson to come clean about it.

When he’s not being Pwned by Ms Vorderman, that is. 30p Lee indeed.

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