MP Lee Anderson defects from the Conservatives to Reform UK

Notinghamshire MP Lee Anderson has dramatically quit the Conservative Party, accusing it of stifling "free speech", as he announced his defection to Reform UK.

The MP for Ashfield was suspended by the Tories last month for widely criticised remarks about London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

He said he found it "unpalatable" that he had been disciplined for "speaking my mind".

In his strongest attack yet on the party that had formerly elevated him to deputy chairman, he claimed other Tory MPs share his views but will not stick their heads "above the parapet".

He announced his switch to the right-wing populist party at a press conference alongside Reform UK leader Richard Tice in London on Monday.

As recently as January, Mr Anderson had branded Mr Tice a "poundshop Nigel Farage" and said Reform was "not a proper political party".

Asked what has changed, Mr Anderson said: "There's not been a turning point. We all know that sometimes politicians are about as trustworthy as journalists in what they say and do.

"But it's been a gradual journey, and I think there's been several tipping points over the past few months. Like I said in my speech, I've had to do a lot of soul-searching about where I am, what I'm doing.

"And when I find myself suspended for speaking my mind - and, by the way, speaking up on behalf of millions of people up and down the country who agree with me - that for me is unpalatable. It's a shocker, if I'm honest.

"I cannot be a part of an organisation which stifles free speech, and many of my colleagues in that place, in the Conservative Party, do back me on this privately."

Mr Anderson added: "People will say that I've took (sic) a gamble. And I'm prepared to gamble on myself as I know from my mailbag how many people in this country support Reform UK and what they have to say. And, like millions of people up and down the country, all I want is my country back."

Mr Tice said he has found a "champion of the red wall for Reform UK" in welcoming Mr Anderson to his party.

"He's also coincidentally going to be Reform UK's first Member of Parliament in the House of Commons.

"He is, of course, a person of great integrity, no-nonsense, and is the Member of Parliament in the county of Nottinghamshire for Ashfield."

Mr Anderson, a standard bearer for the Tory right, lost the Conservative whip last month after claiming "Islamists" had "got control" of Mr Khan and London.

He initially said he accepted that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had been left with "no option" but to take action after the comments drew condemnation from across the political divide.

Mr Anderson has served since 2019 as MP for Ashfield, one of the previously Labour seats in the so-called red wall where voters switched to the Tories post-Brexit to give Boris Johnson his landslide victory.