Lib Dems to highlight Lee Anderson's remarks in blue wall blitz

Tomorrow's Observer reports:

The Liberal Democrats are to launch a digital advertising blitz in 'blue wall' seats held by leading cabinet ministers to highlight the new Conservative party deputy chair Lee Anderson’s enthusiastic backing for capital punishment.

The party believes that recent remarks by Anderson, who was promoted to the post last week by Rishi Sunak, will prove 'toxic' among Conservative voters in dozens of south-eastern constituencies, including those held by the chancellor of the exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, and deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab.

The digital posters will also feature Anderson’s statements about wanting to send people who arrive in England in small boats back to Calais on a Royal Navy frigate the same day, and his claims that nurses who visit food banks must have their own financial problems.

The image, which presumably forms part of this 'blitz' here has been tweeted by Anderson himself today. He added the words: 'Please drop me 48,000 off and I will deliver them myself in Ashfield.'

They might go down well in Ashfield, though Anderson here is playing up to elite caricatures of voters in the Midlands and the North. And social conservatives who do like his opinions may not appreciate his way of expressing them.

But this campaign isn't aimed at Ashfield: it's aimed at Conservative seats in the South of England where there is good evidence that people like Anderson play badly.

Liberal Democrat canvassers in the Chesham and Amersham by-election reported many Tory voters who were disgusted with Boris Johnson and wanted him gone.

Anderson is not corrupt in that way, but his views and language do represent a corruption of our political discourse. So I expect our social media campaign will go down well with its target audience.