Ashfield Politics - let's do better together

MP Lee Anderson took to social media this weekend in a public criticism of a newspaper report on the allegations that hundreds of his Ashfield constituents were being blocked from his social media pages.

Mr Anderson’s response was to blame the allegations on opposition parties, resulting in a ‘pile-on’ from his followers, taking aim at fellow politicians and the reporter who wrote the piece, which made the national news.

This is one of many incidents which have hit the headlines in recent months, and there are renewed calls from residents for elected officials to focus on the needs of their residents, rather than being caught up in political one-upmanship and point-scoring.

Lee Anderson is no stranger to controversy and, prior to this weekend’s exploits, was previously called out for failing to remove threatening comments on his page towards refugees, became embroiled in a public spat with football pundit Gary Lineker over the housing of asylum seekers, and went viral on Twitter for allowing comments on his post saying it was a ‘pity’ Labour MP Dawn Butler could not be ‘taken outside and shot’.

The Ashfield Independents were also forced to defend their deputy leader several times in recent months, after reports that Tom Hollis ‘barged in’ to a key council meeting, causing it to be abandoned, and was also arrested for driving without due care and attention, and resisting arrest on September 17.

Both the elected MP and the Ashfield Independents have done great things for the area in fighting for their residents' needs, especially with the increased challenges of the pandemic, with recent wins being the beginning of the construction of the new state-of-the-art leisure centre in Kirkby, Sutton winning more than £6 million from the Future High Streets Fund and initiatives such as The Big Spring Clean which is helping to tidy up the district this month.

Residents are urging their elected officials to ‘do better’ and focus on the positives, and making the area a better place, leaving political differences to one side for the benefit of the Ashfield district and its people.

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