Lee Anderson’s resignation spells trouble for Rishi Sunak

The fallout from the return of the Safety of Rwanda Bill has begun – before a single vote has been cast. Lee Anderson has handed in his resignation as deputy chairman of the Conservative party, alongside his fellow deputy Brendan Clarke-Smith. The two red wall MPs, who won their seats in the 2019 election, had signalled their intention last night to back amendments by Robert Jenrick and Bill Cash to toughen up the Bill. However, up until half an hour before the vote, the government had not made clear whether such an act would make their position untenable. Eventually this was confirmed and both decided to walk rather than be sacked. There was one more loss for the government tonight, with Kemi Badenoch’s PPS Jane Stevenson offering her resignation, after declaring that she would back the amendments.

So, where does this leave Rishi Sunak? When Sunak appointed Anderson as deputy chair it was intended to send a signal that he was serious about the red wall.