Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson has launched a blistering attack on Labour MPs, calling them "educated idiots" and "nutjobs" in Parliament. He dismissed the new cabinet as "detached Northerners" who have nothing in common with working-class voters.
Northern Accents Don't Fool Voters
Anderson, the former miner who became Reform's first MP in March 2024, scoffed at the idea that Red Wall voters would swing to Labour because of northern accents in the cabinet. An analysis found 43% of the new PM's cabinet were born in the North, compared with 16% in Tony Blair's 1997 team.
"They're not real Northerners, are they?" he said. "They are detached Northerners." He insisted they have "nothing in common at all" with people in his Nottinghamshire seat of Ashfield, "other than they sound a little bit like them when they speak."
Anderson also criticized Labour leader Andy Burnham's dress sense, saying he would tell him: "Smarten yourself up. You know, dress appropriately. You're supposed to be the Prime Minister of this country – not Zelensky. Wandering around in a black t-shirt. That doesn't impress anybody."
Labour's Days Are Done
Anderson argued Labour can no longer rely on traditional strongholds. "Their days are done now because there's a new party in town which will knock on doors and campaign and talk to people, and actually listen to people," he said.
Reflecting on his early days in the Commons, he admitted to "imposter syndrome" but soon changed his mind. "After about a year, you sit there in the chamber and you think, 'These are all thick, these people.' They might be educated, but they're educated idiots."
He claimed these MPs are "too busy finger-wagging, preaching to people, telling people what they should be doing and what they should be thinking, rather than listening to people."
Immigration and Personal History
Anderson said immigration will be a defining issue at the next election. He revealed he once considered moving to Australia or South Africa during the mining industry's decline, but his love for his country kept him here. "Luckily, it's worked out for me okay," he said.
His journey to Reform included quitting the Conservatives in January 2024 over Rwanda policy and losing the whip after refusing to apologize for claiming "Islamists" had "got control" of London Mayor Sadiq Khan. He told the Chief Whip: "I'm not apologising to that man, ever, while I've got a breath in my body. Do what you want."
His parents cemented his break with the Tories. "My mother said to me, 'If you go back in the Tory Party, we'll not vote for you next time.' So, I thought, 'Well, my mother's right.'"
Reform's Ambitions
With Reform routinely first in the polls, Anderson believes the party can transform UK politics. "We've got local elections next year," he said. "That will be a great test for us. There're going to be more parliamentary by-elections. I think we should pick a couple of those up. I always said we'd end this Parliament on 10 MPs. I still think that."
He dismissed rival right-wing party Restore Britain, saying founder Rupert Lowe is "not in it to win it – he's in it to spoil it… He's a one-man band."
Anderson described many MPs from other parties as "nutjobs": "You think, 'My goodness, these people are in here making laws and making decisions… and they are lunatics, literally lunatics.'"
Clacton and the Tories
On the Tories' move to the Right, he said: "Nobody believes them. They had 14 years to get it right. They got it wrong every single year. Migration went out of control under Boris."
He accused major parties of cowardice for not standing against Nigel Farage in Clacton. "If they thought they could beat him, they'd be standing," he said. "They're frightened, they're a bunch of cowards, and they're a disgrace to our country."
Asked about his own ambition, he joked: "Don't tell Sir Lindsay Hoyle, but Speaker of the House."
