Tory supporters lash out at ‘snake’ Sunak over Lee Anderson suspension

[dutchman]

Activists endorse Anderson’s comments and decry ‘threat of Islam’ in leaked messages



Grassroots Conservative supporters have called Rishi Sunak a “snake” over Lee Anderson’s suspension as MPs on the Tory right said he should be given a route back in.

In leaked WhatsApp messages obtained by the Guardian, members of the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO), which was founded by disgruntled Tories after Boris Johnson and then Liz Truss were ousted, attacked the prime minister for kicking Anderson out of the parliamentary party.

Several of the activists endorsed Anderson’s comments and some went further in decrying “the threat of Islam”.

The leaked CDO WhatsApp messages show the fury with which Anderson’s suspension was met by grassroots Tories, several of whom said they agreed with his comments.

The CDO was created in December 2022 by the Tory donor and Johnson supporter Peter Cruddas and contains members of the party and non-members. It has had high-profile support from senior Tory politicians on the right, with Priti Patel, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries addressing its conference last May.

After news of Anderson’s suspension broke, one activist on a CDO WhatsApp group for the south-east said it was “time for the snake of a PM to go.” Another called Sunak a “nutsak” and said “he should never have been there”.

Several group members endorsed Anderson’s comments and expressed similar sentiments. “And everyone says Suella was exaggerating,” one activist said. “The government are now owned by fear of Islamic rule.” Another responded: “So right.”

Another group member denounced Sunak as “weak and feeble” and said: “At an association AGM today, we were all asked to get behind Rishi Sunak. But I see now he’s fallen for a Labour attack on Lee Anderson which is a diversion of Keir Starmer’s ‘urging’/coercion of the speaker of the house last Wednesday.”

Multiple activists expressed support for Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, who wrote last week that “the Islamists, the extremists and the antisemites are in charge now”.

One CDO member said: “She is saying the exact same thing as Lee Anderson, just in less colourful language, and importantly in print. I am beginning to believe that Suella is the only person who has shown the mettle who can turn the party and remove the threat of Islam from our country.” In a screenshot seen by the Guardian, this message was liked by 10 group members.

Members of the group also shared a CDO petition calling for Anderson’s reinstatement, with one person saying it had amassed 5,000 signatures overnight.

[dutchman]

I've got news for you lefties, it's not just 'Tory supporters' as you will find out at the next election!