Update 21 June 2023: Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson’s GB News will start at 7pm on Friday 23 June.
The channel’s schedule claims he will bring “the Real World to the Great British public, as the silent majority finally have their voices heard”.
Original story 7 March 2023: Lee Anderson will become the latest Conservative MP to host a show on GB News, the channel has announced.
The Conservative Party deputy chairman and MP for Ashfield, in Nottinghamshire, will join fellow Tories Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey and Philip Davies as a GB News host and contributor.
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He said: “GB News is the true voice of the Great British silent majority. I’m joining the people’s channel to ensure their voice is heard.”
The MP has proved controversial since his election in 2019, calling for the return of the death penalty and claiming people on Universal Credit were not in poverty.
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Even before his election, he was criticised for asking a friend to pose as a swing voter while being filmed by veteran political reporter Michael Crick.
GB News editorial director Michael Booker said: “Lee has been a breath of fresh air in Westminster since he was elected, doing something that many politicians are scared to do: talking honestly about what they believe.
“Our viewers and listeners appreciate his common-sense language, something that has been missing from politics for a long time. As the next election will be fought in the Red Wall, Lee’s insights into northern voters will be key.”
It has not yet been announced when Anderson’s show will air.
Anderson previously appeared for a weekly segment on Dan Wootton’s show, titled The Real World with Lee Anderson, for which he received £200 per week according to the register of MPs’ interests.
The register suggests that he will be in line for a significant increase in that fee if he hosts his own show, with fellow Conservative MPs earning more than twice that as presenters.
Tatton MP Esther McVey earned £58,650 as a GB News presenter in 2022, at an average of just under £900 per episode.
Her husband and co-host, Shipley MP Philip Davies, was paid £46,203 in the same year, an average of £679 per episode.
Former host Dehenna Davison was paid £1,879 per month for presenting a weekly show until she became a minister in September 2022.
Jacob Rees-Mogg is yet to declare how much he is paid by GB News, with his show beginning only at the end of February.
Other politicians appearing on the channel include former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, former Northern Irish First Minister Baroness Foster and ex-Labour MP Gloria de Piero.
Anderson previously worked for Ms de Piero before he defected to the Conservatives in 2018, winning election to her former seat a year later.
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