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.
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