LEE Anderson was the embodiment of the 2019 political realignment that saw the Tories turn the electoral map from red to blue.
The straight-talking miner’s “political journey” took him from Labour councillor to elected on Boris Johnson’s Red Wall wave.
And it summed up the jump millions of voters made across Labour’s former heartlands.
But now like millions of voters who backed Boris in 2019 he has no truck for Rishi Sunak but no time for Sir Keir Starmer.
Instead, like many out there, he’s looking for a genuine alternative.
If Reform can get their clownish antics in gear, that could be an existential problem for the squabbling Tories.
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It’s body-blow for Sunak too who helped make Anderson the political celebrity he is.
Often accused of being out of touch and aloof to the Red Wall, the PM was a desperate for some grit in his oyster.
Despite warnings it could blow up in his face, the PM made Anderson a superstar deputy party chairman.
And so it came to pass…