One Red Wall colleague told Express.co.uk: “The [Conservative] party ought to get behind Lee properly and make him chairman for the Red Wall constituencies. He just gets it.”
The Ashfield MP actually runs Ready Steady Cook events in schools to teach children how to cook for themselves and manage budgets. He invited the Sunday Express to one event last November.
Mr Anderson became a Conservative after befriending Tory MP Ben Bradley when the two were councillors together on Nottinghamshire County Council and became a key figure in the Blue Collar Conservative Movement founded by Esther McVey and her MP husband Philip Davies.
Previously, he had worked for the former Ashfield Labor MP Gloria De Piero before she stepped down and later became a presenter on GB News.
He then became the Ashfield MP in 2019 but not for Labor but the Conservatives and a poster for the Tory MPs to sweep Labour’s former Red Wall heartlands on the back of Brexit delivering Boris Johnson an historic victory.
Mr Anderson has previously infuriated the Left with his demands to control immigration and bring in tough laws to stop travelers invading public land.
He previously got a tractor to move concrete blocks himself to prevent travelers from using one piece of open space in his constituency.
Yesterday it was his comments on food banks which attracted the ire of Labor MPs and Leftwing commentators.
Mr Anderson said: “You can’t keep throwing money at the problem… Once someone finds out they can cook meals relatively cheaply, a lot cheaper than spending money on frozen foods, and junk foods and takeaways and the chip shop.. surely that’s got to be a winner.”
READ MORE: Brexit LIVE: ‘Complete farce!’ Tensions erupt as non-EU passport lines
His close friend and fellow Red wall Tory, Dudley Noth MP Marco Longhi said the attacks were because the Left fear what Anderson represents.
He said: “I stand 100 oercent behind my friend and colleague Lee Anderson MP. The left and the leftwing media hate him and fear him – he represents the genuine working class, he’s a former coal miner, as was my grandfather.
“Labour have been ‘found out’, the party of the lowest common denominator and the politics of envy; no aspiration, no hope.
“Well done Lee, we all owe you a debt of gratitude for telling the truth, for telling it as it is.”
He added: “Lee, a former Labor card carrying trade unionist realized that hope and aspiration is not part of Labour’s agenda. This is why he looked elsewhere and found them in the Conservative Party.”
Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith said: “There’s been a bit of a media storm over my friend and colleague from Ashfield’s comments regarding the use of food banks. I’ve touched on this subject myself in the past and I think he is absolutely spot on. I’ll explain why.
DON’T MISS
The best way to beat obesity and poverty is in the kitchen, say MPs [REVEAL]
Have your say: Should Britain cave to EU’s trade deal threat or walk? [REACT]
Liz Truss urged to rip up Northern Ireland protocol [INSIGHT]
“It’s vitally important that there is a safety net in society and that we look after those who are unable to help themselves. People experience difficulties at various times of their lives for all sorts of reasons, whether they have lost their job, been of victims domestic abuse or in cases I’ve seen locally because they’ve been got by flooding.Sometimes this leaves people with serious difficulties in the short term.
“In the past, people would use their extended family networks or those in their communities, for example the church, as a source of help if they experienced problems and what was provided by the state was not enough.
“Nowadays, society has changed somewhat and there are many (often more formal) organizations that are around that can help people.
“The result of this is that we have various charitable groups and in some cases organizations such as food banks who can offer assistance and whose workers (who are often volunteers) do great work.
“I don’t think this is a bad thing, as it raises awareness about extra help that is available and of course when this happens you will have an increase in people using these services. It’s not to say there’s necessarily been an increase in need , so much as an increase in awareness.
“Unfortunately, some seem to use this to play political games and suggest that suddenly we have had a massive rise in absolute poverty in this country.
“This, of course, is nonsense and if they were to visit places in the world where we have some real examples of absolute poverty they may actually gain some sense of perspective.
“If they also tried working in the voluntary sector, as I did for many years, they would also realize that many of us Conservatives are involved in and run many charitable organizations.”