Lee Anderson
Lee Anderson | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Chairman of Reform UK | |
| Assumed office 18 May 2026 | |
| Deputy | Paul Nuttall |
| Leader | Nigel Farage |
| Preceded by | David Bull |
| Chief Whip of Reform UK in the House of Commons | |
| Assumed office 11 July 2024 | |
| Leader | Nigel Farage |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party | |
| In office 7 February 2023 – 16 January 2024 | |
| Leader | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Matt Vickers |
| Succeeded by | James Daly |
| Member of Parliament for Ashfield | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Gloria De Piero |
| Majority | 5,509 (13.8%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 January 1967 Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Party | Reform UK (2024–present) |
Other political affiliations | Labour (1983–2018) Conservative (2018–2024) Independent (2018, 2024) |
| Spouse | Sinead Anderson |
| Children | 2 |
| Occupation |
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Lee Anderson (born 6 January 1967) is a British politician and television presenter who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashfield since 2019. A member of Reform UK, he has served as its Chief Whip since July 2024, and its Chairman since 2026. Anderson was elected in 2019 as a member of the Conservative Party, but defected to Reform UK in March 2024 after having the whip suspended. He became the party's first MP, and was subsequently elected for Reform UK at the 2024 general election.
Anderson was a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party under Rishi Sunak from February 2023 to January 2024. He resigned to vote against the government on an amendment relating to the Rwanda asylum plan. In February 2024, he had the Conservative whip suspended after declining to apologise for stating that "Islamists" had "got control" of Sadiq Khan and Keir Starmer.
Before his parliamentary career, Anderson was a coal miner and worked for the Citizens Advice Bureau. He was elected as a Labour Party councillor in the Ashfield District in 2015. Suspended by Labour in 2018, he defected to the Conservative Party later that year and was a Conservative councillor in Mansfield from 2019 to 2021 concurrently with his term as an MP. He was elected for Reform UK at the 2024 general election.