Energy Minister Graham Stuart said it is a shame that Lee Anderson has defected to Reform UK and predicted he would soon be at odds with the party’s leader Richard Tice.
He told GB News: “It's a shame he's gone. He's been on a bit of a journey already from Labour to the Conservatives, now he's with Reform. He recognised that he'd said the wrong thing, but he couldn't quite bring himself to say sorry.
“That's the particular story of him but the Conservative Party is absolutely determined to back the Prime Minister and make sure we don't have Keir Starmer, because that's the choice facing him. Keir Starmer has no plans, no ideas, I've seen no evidence of it.
“You can see Lee Anderson on the stage with his new leader, barely able to hide his irritation. I'm not sure how long that particular honeymoon is going to last either.”
Asked about a possible return of Boris Johnson, during a discussion during Breakfast with Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster, he continued: “I don't know whether Boris is going to be back on the campaign trail, but obviously he supports the Conservative Party.
“He has always done it and he dedicated himself to this country and he recognises that only a government led by Rishi Sunak rather than one by led by Keir Starmer will protect the huge rise in education standards we've seen since we came in in 2010, will protect the four million extra jobs that have been created since 2010, and will ensure that we continue the energy transition meeting on net zero targets but also vitally strengthening our economy.”
He added: “The Government's made transformational changes over the last 14 years. Less than 7% of our electricity came from renewables in 2010. That was Labour's dire legacy, whereas today, it's approaching 50% and we're building out faster and faster…
“We've cut our emissions by more than any other major economy on Earth. We've cut it by more than 50% and that's happened under this Conservative government as we've removed coal, increased renewables, cleaned our system, but we're determined to keep the lights on as well.”
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