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  "path": "/politics/local-elections-lee-anderson-reform-voters",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-08T11:15:29.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "‘I’m not going to walk away’ - Keir Starmer vows not to quit amid devastating Labour losses",
    "‘We don’t need it!' Robert Jenrick rules out Tory pact after Reform storms council contests",
    "WATCH: John Healey and Keir Starmer challenged over ‘living in cloud cuckoo land’ by Ellie Costello",
    "Robert Jenrick ruled out any future pact with the Tories",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nLee Anderson has said voters were turning to Reform after years of “being treated as useful idiots and voting fodder”.\n\nThe Ashfield MP was speaking to GB News as his party surged to success in local elections across the country.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nExplaining the trend, Mr Anderson pointed to the red wall “where Boris swept to power in 2019”.\n\n“I was one of about two at the last election, who managed to retain my seat,” he began.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n“People in areas like Ashfield have been treated like useful idiots and voting fodder for decades. They've had enough.”\n\nThe Reform Chief Whip declared: “They’re fed up with going to the ballot box being promised one thing and getting something completely different.\n\n“We can't be blamed for anything at Reform UK, so people are turning to us in their millions.”\n\nTo that end, Mr Anderson promised: “We're going to deliver.”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHailing Reform’s growth nationwide, the Ashfield MP told The People’s Channel that “we get a hero's welcome everywhere we go”.\n\n“It's unbelievable,” he celebrated. \"People literally coming out in the streets, pumping their arms, wanting selfies, wanting autographs.\n\n“The response is phenomenal.”\n\nRegarding criticism from other parties, Mr Anderson advised: “They need to look inwards. They need to look at themselves.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * ‘I’m not going to walk away’ - Keir Starmer vows not to quit amid devastating Labour losses\n  * ‘We don’t need it!' Robert Jenrick rules out Tory pact after Reform storms council contests\n  * WATCH: John Healey and Keir Starmer challenged over ‘living in cloud cuckoo land’ by Ellie Costello\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“They need to think to themselves, 'why are people coming out of their millions to vote for Reform UK?'“\n\n“It's because they're failing at the local level and they're failing at the national level.”\n\nAs a result, he insisted: “We're not just hoovering up Tory votes; we're hoovering up Labour votes as well.\n\n“People say Nigel (Farage) is a divisive character… We're actually uniting the country, we're bringing Tory voters, and we're bringing Labour voters.”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEarlier, fellow Reform MP Robert Jenrick ruled out any future pact with the Tories in the wake of the local elections.\n\nThe Reform Economics Spokesman said:v “I don't believe there will be any pact or deal. I don't think we'll need that.”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "‘People are sick of being treated as useful idiots and voting fodder’, says Lee Anderson"
}