The Tories need to fight the next election on culture wars as they have lost their winning formula from 2019, the party’s new Deputy Chairman has said.
In a swipe at Rishi Sunak, Lee Anderson said the last election was won through a combination of Boris Johnson, Brexit and antipathy towards Jeremy Corbyn – but the party will now have to “think of something else”.
The Ashfield MP, who was promoted by Mr Sunak last week, said the party would likely put a “mix of culture wars and trans debate” at the heart of its election offer.
In an interview with the New Culture Forum done before his appointment, he said: “The big thing in terms of 2019, there were three things that won us the election.
“It was nothing to do with me, it was Brexit, it was Boris, it was Corbyn and it was as simple as that.
“Those three things together were a great campaign, great ingredients.
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The New Culture Forum/Youtube)
“At the next election we haven’t got those three things so we’ll have to think of something else. It’ll probably be a mix of culture wars and trans debate.”
Mr Anderson said illegal immigration and the influx of small boats were the number one issue for voters.
“When we voted for Brexit, we promised to control our borders but it’s got worse,” he said.
He said people coming over in dinghies are “not genuine asylum seekers” as they would have claimed refuge in other countries before reaching Britain.
“That’s what winds people up and that’s what fills my inbox every day.”
It comes after Boris Johnson’s former LGBT+ business chief Iain Anderson said he was abandoning the party over its attitude to business and attempts to sow division.
“It was made pretty clear the plan is to run a culture war to distract from fundamental economic failings,” Mr Anderson said.
“It’s not something I want any part of.”
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PA)
Meanwhile, the Tory deputy chairman also called for every public building to fly a union jack flag to boost patriotism among Brits.
The Tory MP said all schools should also be made to sing the national anthem to make sure children are proud to be British.
He took aim at political leaders for “a bit sterile”, saying: “They seem to have come off some sort of production line, everything is about presentation, about not saying the wring thing, not making a mistake.”
“People don’t want that,” he added, pointing to Nigel Farage who he said was a “great communicator”.
He said he “absolutely hated” Margaret Thatcher and the Tory Government when he was younger – but he now believes “the country needed her”.
The outspoken backbencher’s promotion to a top CCHQ job was one of the surprises of Rishi Sunak’s recent mini-reshuffle.
He has stoked anger for his rants about foodbanks, suggesting poor Brits “cannot cook properly” and “cannot budget” in a Commons speech last year.
Mr Anderson also compared the Government to the “band on the Titanic” over its asylum policy in a string of leaked WhatsApp messages only weeks before his appointment at Tory deputy.
And he recently called for the return of the death penalty, saying “nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed”.
Mr Sunak was forced to say he did not support the return of capital punishment following the comments.
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