Conservative MP Nick Fletcher on Wednesday insisted he remained loyal to the party after appearing to endorse serial rebel Lee Anderson.
Mr Anderson last month defected from the Conservatives to join Reform UK, having previously been a councillor for Labour.
The MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire has declared a non-aggression pact with four Tory MPs he regards as friends, including Mr Fletcher, promising not to campaign in their constituencies.
In response, Mr Fletcher endorsed Mr Anderson as Ashfield’s “greatest champion”, adding he should be back in Westminster after the general election.
“I can understand in those circumstances why he joined Reform,” he said, following a row that saw Mr Anderson deprived of the Conservative parliamentary whip for inflammatory remarks against London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
REFORM & LEE ANDERSON MP
— Nick Fletcher MP (@NickFletcherMP) April 11, 2024
I so wish @LeeAndersonMP_ had remained with the Conservatives. 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… pic.twitter.com/oDR3fZiSF2
The Liberal Democrats pointed out that Mr Fletcher’s stance was in breach of Tory party rules and said that Rishi Sunak should strip him of the whip as well - potentially creating another pre-election headache for the embattled PM.
But Mr Fletcher then clarified his position with a new post on X.
“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,” the Don Valley MP said.
“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.”
The Conservative Party declined to comment when contacted by the Standard.
Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper MP 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," she said.
Announcing his non-aggression pact, Mr Anderson said he would not campaign against Tory MPs Ben Bradley (Mansfield), Brendan Clarke-Smith (Bassetlaw), Marco Longhi (Dudley North) and Mr Fletcher.
The former Tory deputy chairman said that “friendship means more” to him, adding that the four MPs had reached out to him following his defection.
Recent polls suggest that Reform are breathing down the Conservatives’ necks. The party’s founder Nigel Farage is being coy about whether he might take on a more prominent role that could deepen Tory troubles.
