Conservative party members have crowned Lee Anderson “backbencher of the year” after he said people only use food banks because they are unable to cook or budget “properly”.
The MP for Ashfield beat 180 other backbenchers put forward by Tory voters for the accolade – earning 54 of 553 total votes.
The annual Conservative Home survey saw former prime minister Boris Johnson win 35 votes, ex-Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg earn 32, former PM Theresa May and MP John Redwood gain 29 respectively, and Sir Graham Brady win 22.
Mr Anderson, a former Labour councillor who defected to the Tory party in 2018, is known for his often polarising views, and plain-spoken delivery.
During a Commons debate in May this year, Mr Anderson invited MPs to visit a food bank in his constituency to witness a “brilliant scheme” whereby those in receipt of food parcels have to “register for a budgeting and cooking course”.
“We show them how to cook cheap and nutritious meals on a budget – we can make a meal for about 30p a day – and this is cooking from scratch,” he added.
But when pressed by a Labour MP whether it should be necessary to have food banks in 21st century Britain, Mr Anderson replied: “I’ll invite you personally to come to Ashfield, look at our food bank, how it works.
“I think you’ll see first-hand there’s not this massive use for food banks in this country. We’ve got generation after generation who cannot cook properly, they can’t cook a meal from scratch, they cannot budget.”
Addressing MPs, he added: “The challenge is there – come. You’re sat there with glazed expressions on your faces, looking at me like I’ve landed from a different planet. Come to a real food bank that’s making a real difference to people’s lives.”
His comments provoked widespread outrage, and prompted then-justice minister Victoria Atkins to say they were “not right” in a bid to distance the government from Mr Anderson. The Red Wall MP also raised eyebrows earlier this year after launching a verbal tirade against an anti-Brexit protester outside parliament, telling him: “You’re nothing but a parasite”.
He told activist Steve Bray in a verbal altercation: “You’re nothing but a parasite. We’ve established that. You’re a scrounger. Why are you here dressed like a tramp?”
And in 2019, Mr Anderson was caught getting one of his friends to pose as an anti-Labour swing voter, raising further questions about the party’s use of disinformation and fake news.
The then-Tory candidate forgot he was wearing a live microphone while he phoned his friend to set up the fake encounter to impress a journalist.
“Make out you know who I am… you know I’m the candidate, but not a friend, alright?” Mr Anderson was recorded saying as he spelt out instructions to his friend minutes before bringing a journalist to his door.
