It was always going to be debatable whether Rishi Sunak’s decision to appoint Lee Anderson as deputy chairman of the Conservative Party was truly inspired or else utterly insane.

But it’s become all the more debatable now that the notoriously loud-mouthed member for the red wall constituency of Ashfield in Nottinghamshire has declared himself in favour of bringing back the death penalty — primarily on the grounds, apparently, that: “Nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed.”

To those Tories who are particularly worried — for good reason according to the polls — about losing the support of primarily older, working class, often formerly Labour-supporting voters in the north and the midlands, this is exactly the sort of fighting talk that (along with the government’s promise to “stop the boats”) might just win them back.

Dog whistling is all well and good, they argue, but when you need a bloody great blast on the fog horn, then Lee’s your man — a real straight-shooter, and always from the hip.

Research suggests that they may be on to something. Surveys conducted after the last general election found that, when presented with the statement “For some crimes, the death penalty is the most appropriate sentence”, some 63 per cent of those who voted Tory in 2019 agreed. And the figure for those who switched from Labour to Tory at that election was, at 62 per cent, pretty much the same.

Capital punishment also finds favour with the Conservative’s grassroots members. A survey conducted in the wake of the election found that some 53 per cent of them agreed with the same statement.

That matters because it’s not enough to have folk willing to vote for you, you also need to actually get them out to vote. Rank and file members aren’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to mobilisation — mainstream and social media can help; so can paid-for ads and phone banks. But boots on the ground still count — especially when it comes to delivering leaflets, canvassing and “knocking up” voters on polling day.

There are, however, several potential downsides to Anderson’s advocacy of the death penalty.

One obvious risk is that what plays well in the red wall goes down like the proverbial lead balloon in the so-called blue wall — seats, largely in the south, which, replete as they are with more affluent and more highly educated voters, may be at risk of falling to the Lib Dems.

Just as importantly, perhaps, our research on Tory MPs suggested that only 21 per cent of them thought that the death penalty was the most appropriate sentence for some crimes, which means it’s unlikely ever to be endorsed as government, let alone Conservative, policy.

If that gets out — which, given the media’s wholly understandable interest in teasing out intra-party divisions, is highly likely — then it will look like yet another case of Tory infighting.

Worse, it may reinforce a seemingly growing feeling among some of the party’s voters that it’s being led by people who aren’t, in their eyes, “true conservatives” prepared to stand up for common sense — one that many Tory MPs worry may see them give Reform UK a go.

Rishi Sunak must have known the risks involved in appointing “30p Lee” but he may be regretting running them already.

Originally published at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/death-penalty-call-puts-lee-anderson-in-the-minority-l5rngc8pm