Lee Anderson is the newly Independent MP for Ashfield and was a very vocal member of the Conservative Party - until PM Rishi Sunak kicked him off the Tory benches over recent comments. Anderson made some very choice claims about London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour leader Keir Starmer, saying that they were ‘controlled by Islamists’. This is what’s causing the drama this time around, but Anderson is far from a stranger to controversy.
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The politician hosts a GB News show, alongside his role in politics, which is said to top his MP’s salary up by £100,000 a year. The presenter-slash-politician enjoys stirring up trouble, and is frequently seen opposing ‘wokism’. Indeed, in an interview last year he even expressed his support for the death penalty. The government, obviously, does not share his view on this - yet he spoke up about it just a few days before he was given the deputy chair position in February 2023.
For all his controversial bravado, Anderson has also had a tumultuous personal life over the years. His wife Sinead has had a long battle against cystic fibrosis, which ended up requiring serious surgery. Here’s everything you need to know.
Sinead’s health battle
Lee Anderson’s wife Sinead is a Conservative councilor on Mansfield District Council. From 2019 to 2023, Sinead represented the ward of Eakring, then Thompsons from 2023. Before that, she trained as a teacher and worked in the classroom for a decade. However, her health got in the way and she had to make a shift in her career.
Sinead was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 18 years old. Talking to the Daily Express, Lee revealed that ‘the classroom was the worst place for her as bugs and germs can be deadly’. At one point, Sinead got the ‘devastating’ news that ‘she may not live beyond 25 or 30’.
Sinead’s transplant
Lee, who has two grown-up sons Harry and Charlie with his wife, said:
Sinead declined and got worse and went on the transplant list for five years. We had five false alarms where we got down to hospital only to find the donor lungs were not suitable.
However, on the fifth try the doctors delivered some good news: the lungs of a 33-year-old mum, Holly, were a match for Sinead. Holly was a model and solicitor, but she was also a type-1 diabetic, and a routine leg operation led to a fatal heart attack. This was in 2016, and Holly’s organ donation saved Sinead - along with three other people.
Cystic fibrosis: an introduction
According to the NHS, cystic fibrosis (CF) is ‘an inherited condition that causes sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system’. It can lead to lung infection as well as difficulty digesting food.
Treatments are available for CF, but life expectancy for those with the condition is shortened.
Lee has said that Sinead is very careful with her new lease of life:
She takes incredible care of herself as she is respectful she has this gift, these lungs. She wants to make sure they are looked after out of respect to Holly.
Sinead herself, who has met Holly’s family, said that the experience has been ‘overwhelming’. She said at the time that she could feel ‘strength from Holly getting me through it.’
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Sources used:
BBC: Lee Anderson: Outspoken MP suspended over Khan comments
Express: Cystic fibrosis drug: MP's battle after wife given gift of life
NHS: Cystic fibrosis
