A Tory MP used a junior staff member to try to make a point about nurses' pay but it didn't go quite how he planned it. Lee Anderson, the MP for Ashfield, posted a picture of one of his staff members to say she still managed to live in central London and save money despite being paid less that £30,000.
The replies to his Twitter post pointed out the many flaws in his argument and he has been reported to the Commons authorities. Labour has accused him of "harassing" his own staff and using her a political football to get across his views on food bank use. The Tory MP has repeatedly attracted controversy on the subject after he claimed that poor people only used food banks because they “cannot budget”.
Earlier this week, fellow Tory MP Simon Clarke questioned the need for nurses to use food banks, saying they must have an issue with budgeting, and calling on people to "take responsibility in their lives."
Mr Anderson wrote: "Katy works for me. She is single & earns less than 30k, rents a room for £775pcm in Central London, has student debt, £120 a month on travelling to work saves money every month, goes on foreign holidays & does not need to use a foodbank. Katy makes my point really well."
Labour MP Dawn Butler said the tweet was “a form bullying and harassment”, urging the Tory MP to delete his message and added she was reporting him to the Commons authorities.
“Whether Katy agreed to this, it is unacceptable to use a young female employee this way,” the Labour backbencher tweeted. “I will also be writing to the House of Commons authorities to stress that this is a very dangerous political strategy.”
Author James Felton wrote: "Hi Katy do you mind posing for a photograph, I want to tweet out your salary and living arrangements in order to s**t on people in completely different circumstances that have been forced to use food banks because of our callous and sh***y government."
Journalist Tom Peck wrote: "Ask Katy what she would do if she had a kid." Comedian and TV presenter Dom Joly wrote simply: "Run, Katy, run."
Twitter user Gary Spedding asked: "Why are you paying Katy less than £30k a year when you literally have the option to pay her up to £37,466 per year? She deserves it - especially if she is going to be subject to public postings like this from you in an effort to exploit her for cheap political points on austerity."
Snowphie said: "Hey Lee. What about yourself? You earn £84,000 a year and still needed to claim £223,000 in expenses on top of that because that’s not enough for you to budget. Maybe you should ask Katy for some tips."
Adam Smith pointed out: "Between 2022 and 2023, Lee Anderson expensed £7,620 on London hotels, £2,700 on rent and £2,044 on 'stationery and printing'. He thinks poor people are too wasteful with their money, when their tax pays his expenses "
Duncan Foster said: "Ridiculous, ludicrous tweet. Clearly has no idea how people have to live. How hard it is to cope with the cost of living. You should be ashamed."
Lib Dem MP Jamie Stone who said the tweet was “in seriously bad taste and is an awful way to admit that you don’t pay your staff enough”, adding: “I have never, and would never, use my staff as a political football.”
Mr Anderson had earlier defended fellow Tory MP Simon Clarke after he had questioned why nurses on £35,000 a year are using food banks during a radio interview. Mr Clarke told nurses “something is wrong with your budgeting” if they are relying on handouts – remarks “disgusting, heartless and out of touch” by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: “To criticise anybody using a food bank is disgusting, heartless and dangerously out of touch. I have toured the length and breadth of this country and met nursing staff from every corner of the nation – and their fear and fright about not being able to meet their bills is palpable.”
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