Rishi Sunak faces Tory disciplinary headache as Conservative MP urges voters to back Reform UK defector Lee Anderson in his Ashfield seat

Rishi Sunak is facing a disciplinary headache after a Tory MP urged voters to back Reform UK defector Lee Anderson in his Ashfield constituency.

Nick Fletcher, the Conservative MP for Don Valley, hailed Mr Anderson as Ashfield's 'greatest champion' and called for locals to support him at the general election.

'We both need to be back in Westminster,' Mr Fletcher said of himself and Mr Anderson, despite the pair now representing rival parties. 

His call came shortly after Mr Anderson, the ex-Conservative deputy chairman, said he would not campaign for his new party in the seats of four of his Tory MP 'friends'.

Mr Anderson said he would not campaign against Mr Fletcher, Ben Bradley, Brendan Clarke-Smith or Marco Longhi ahead of the general election.

'Friendship means more to me. Every other seat is fair game,' said Mr Anderson, who was stripped of the Tory whip in February before going on to join Reform in March.

Mr Anderson and Mr Fletcher's action - described as a 'non-aggression pact' between the 'Red Wall' MPs - will cause fresh internal party tensions for the PM.

Simon Hart, the Conservative Chief Whip, is understood to have spoken to Mr Fletcher about his comments.

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 Tory code of conduct states that party members must not 'oppose any Conservative candidate in any election and/or act as the agent for anyone who does'.

Members are warned they can face expulsion from the party if they breach these rules.

In a post on Facebook this morning, Mr Anderson shared a picture of his former Tory colleagues Mr Bradley, Mr Clarke-Smith, Mr Longhi, and Mr Fletcher.

The Reform MP wrote: 'These people are my friends and the ones that reached out to me last month.

'They will always be my friends and because of this I will not campaign against them in their Parliamentary seats.

'Friendship means more to me. Every other seat is fair game.'

Shortly afterwards, Mr Fletcher posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, to express his regret that Mr Anderson had not been able to remain a Tory MP.

'I so wish @LeeAndersonMP_ had remained with the Conservatives,' he wrote. 

'However having lost the whip it would mean the Conservative Party would choose someone other than Lee to fight the election in Ashfield.

'I can understand in those circumstances why he joined Reform. Ashfield has its greatest champion and I hope they appreciate what he has done for his home town and his country at the next election.

'I hope my constituents see that a vote for me in Doncaster is also the right thing to do. I am a lone voice in Parliament shouting up for Doncaster.

'We both need to be back in Westminster.'

The Don Valley MP subsequently sought to clarify his remarks after being spoken to by the Tory whips' office.

'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.

'Lee is a personal friend but we can't risk the damage a Labour government would do to our country. Just look at what the Labour council has done to Doncaster.'

Following Mr Anderson's announcement, Reform said it respected the Ashfield MP's personal decision but vowed to continue with its election campaign across all seats.

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.

'The party respect this decision and it shows Lee's loyalty to his friends, which goes beyond politics.

'Reform will be standing in these constituencies and will be fighting the Conservatives across the board in England, Wales and Scotland.

'The Tories have betrayed the country by failing to control our borders and allowing our public services to crumble. We will punish them at the general election.'

Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: 'It seems even Conservative MPs don't want the Conservatives to win.

'Voters are sick to the back teeth of this never-ending circus of infighting.

'Rishi Sunak needs to find his backbone and kick Nick Fletcher out of the Conservative Party.

'Failure to do so would show yet again that 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.

A Tory spokesperson said: 'The party will be standing a Conservative candidate in every constituency in Great Britain. A vote for Reform is a vote to let Sir Keir Starmer into No10.'