Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith have resigned as deputy chairmen of the Conservative Party over Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda Bill.
Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith, both Red Wall MPs, have sent Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a joint resignation letter late this afternoon.
In their letter, they said they wanted amendments to Rishi’s Rwanda Bill “not because we are against the legislation, but because like everybody else we want it to work.”
They added:
“This task is not an easy one and we appreciate the fine balance that must be struck.
“As two people who have been on very different political journeys, one as a person who followed the same path many voters did for the first time at the last general election and another who has been a lifelong Conservative Party supporter, it has been a huge honour for both of us to serve as deputy chairmen of the party.
“Our support for the party and this government remains as strong as ever and that is why we are so passionate about making this legislation work.
“However, we fully appreciate that with such important roles there is also the issue of being bound by collective responsibility.
“It is with this in mind that we fully appreciate that whilst our main wish is to strengthen the legislation, this means that in order to vote for amendments we will therefore need to offer you our resignations from our roles.”
