Nick Fletcher, the Conservative MP for Don Valley, hailed Lee Anderson as Ashfield's 'greatest champion' and called for locals to support him at the general election.
Rishi Sunak is facing a disciplinary headache after a Tory MP urged voters to back Reform UK defector Lee Anderson in his Ashfield constituency.
Mr Anderson said he would not campaign against Mr Fletcher, Ben Bradley, Brendan Clarke-Smith or Marco Longhi ahead of the general election. The Liberal Democrats claimed, if Mr Sunak failed to kick Mr Fletcher out of the Tory party for voicing his support for a rival candidate, it would show 'he's too weak to control his party, let alone govern the country'.
The Conservative Party insisted they would still be standing a candidate in Ashfield at the general election against Mr Anderson and Reform 'For the avoidance of any doubt of course I want to see a Conservative majority government returned at the next election with as many Conservative MPs as possible,' he posted.
A party 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.
News Conservatives Liberal Democrats Rishi Sunak Simon Hart
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rishi Sunak Enters 'Parallel Universe' As PM Faces Down Angry Tory MPsKevin Schofield is Politics Editor of HuffPost UK.
Read more »
Rishi Sunak faces fresh by-election headache after ex-Tory MP quitsThe Conservatives won Blackpool South in 2019 with a majority of just 3,690 votes
Read more »
Rishi Sunak faces criticism over knighthood to Tory donor who gave party £5mLabour Party chair Anneliese Dodds said large donations should not be an 'automatic pass' to knighthood.
Read more »
Tory advisers quietly ditch Rishi Sunak for Keir StarmerAN SNP MP has said that “rats and sinking ships spring to mind” after it was reported that Tory advisers are ditching Rishi Sunak for Keir…
Read more »
Rishi Sunak criticised for 'surprise' honours list including major Tory donor Mohamed MansourSources have pointed out recipient Mohamed Mansour's past charity work. He is a Conservative Party treasurer and gave £5m to the party in 2023.
Read more »
'Demob-Happy' Rishi Sunak Hands Knighthood To Tory DonorGraeme Demianyk is a news editor at HuffPost UK, and is based in New York. As well as being night new editor, he has written extensively on the Grenfell tower disaster and the UK's housing crisis.
Read more »