This is Andrew's constituency HQ in Romford.
It's called Margaret Thatcher House and it's in Western Road, just behind the Mercury Mall.
Outside are four big posters of Andrew, two plaques and five flags. Andrew is a self-confessed flag fanatic and Chair of the Flags and Heraldry All-Party Parliamentary Group, so it's no surprise to see a proliferation of poles outside the building. Two Union Flags hang from the building itself while the central red, white and blue is flanked by a St George's cross and the flag of Essex. Andrew is 100% convinced that Romford should be in Essex, even though it hasn't been since before he was born, and last year spoke lengthily in Parliament proposing that "Havering Belongs in Essex – Not Greater London". Andrew also loves to use the coat of arms of the long-defunct Municipal Borough of Romford so it appears on his poster amid the flags... and also in pride of place above the front door.
Margaret Thatcher came to open the building on 17th March 2005 after the previous Tory HQ burnt down. She was described on the day as "a bit frail", but still got stuck in with a shovel to plant a tree in Coronation Gardens. The blue plaque by the door isn't official, it says Romford Conservative Association around the edge, but it does describe our former PM as The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven L.G. O.M. F.R.S. because it's a very Andrew thing to be properly correct about official titles. Also the opening day just happened to be Andrew's birthday, which I doubt was a coincidence, and last March his constituency colleagues threw him a special St Patrick's Day party at which he danced to Steps in front of several portraits of the Iron Lady. They won't be hosting one again.
As yet the posters of Andrew haven't been removed because it takes time to react to a sudden defection. Andrew's done a much swifter job on his own website, however, which he took down yesterday and it now redirects to his page at parliament.uk. Here's some of what you're missing.
• Andrew’s interest in politics started from a young age, joining the Conservative Party at the age of fourteen. He was elected Chairman of the Romford Young Conservatives at sixteen and went on to become a Councillor for the Chase Cross Ward in 1990.
• Andrew belonged to a small group of Conservative 'Spartans', who voted against the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement each time it was put before the House.
• "I recently conducted an MP's Opinion Poll, receiving responses from over 400 residents in the Romford constituency. An impressive 94% of participants voted in favour of granting Havering independence from City Hall. This is a clear mandate from our community, signaling the desire for change and self-determination."
• Known as one of Westminster’s most patriotic M.P.s, Andrew has always believed the Union Flag should be proudly flown from all public buildings across the U.K.
• "The 'woke' agenda has made its way into so many of our national institutions, businesses, the Church, our media and universities. I believe it is time to address this, which is why I am launching the Romford 'Woke Watch' initiative - a platform designed for local people to voice their concerns and combat this growing self-loathing by an elite minority."
• In 2022, he launched a campaign to play the National Anthem on BBC every evening, unfortunately they have not done so yet but GB News now play it at 6am each morning before live programming commences.
Even in 2002 Andrew was being described "a right-wing populist", so it's not hard to see why he might have switched to Reform. It is a tad self-serving though, having been elected as Romford's Conservative MP at every election since 2001 and now suddenly jumping ship to the right-wing party furthest ahead in local polls. Seemingly the straw that broke the camel's back is the ongoing controversy over handing back the Chagos Islands, but not the fact the government are doing it, just that the Conservatives aren't doing enough to stop them.
However, the time has come to put country before party. The failure of the Conservative Party both when in government and more recently in opposition to actively hold the government to account on the issue of Chagossian self-determination and the defence of British sovereignty, represents a clear red line for me.
Also I note that even at the 2024 election, Andrew was promoting himself with a leaflet that made no mention of the Conservative party.
It's very Rosindell to write M.P. as a proper abbreviation.
It's very Rosindell to include two Union Flags and a St George's Cross.
It's very Rosindell to include the coats of arms of the Municipal Borough of Romford, Hornchurch Urban District and Essex.
And it's exceptionally Rosindell to include the names of 14 places within the constituency drilling down to increasingly archaic settlements.
These are the geographical extremes of Andrew's constituency, namely Havering-atte-Bower, Ardleigh Green, Crowlands and an unnamed neighbourhood near St Leonard's Hamlet.
The photos show... N) a proud village sign draped with a backward England flag E) a throwback bakery with a window full of warm sausage rolls W) a glum pebbledash terrace with a flat on the market for £235,000 S) a house on Acacia Avenue with a recently-erected double-flagged flagpole
This is potential Reform territory on all fronts.
The big question is how many other London constituencies might switch to Reform too. The latest poll suggests seven more are currently on track to flip to Farage, all of them in outer east or southeast London.
No General Election is due for three years and an awful lot could happen before then, plus don't underestimate the impact of tactical voting. More likely perhaps is that another Conservative MP will defect, what with the political momentum currently running that way, rather than risk being voted out further down the line. Andrew Rosindell may not be the last London MP to shake Nigel Farage's hand outside Westminster, but he always looked the most likely to defect and oh look, he now has.
