Who is the most divisive figure in politics? Last year the Daily Mirror claimed Lee Anderson was ‘the worst man in Britain’. This week the Conservative MP is managing to cause a headache both for Labour and his own party. Anderson is a grassroots favourite who even before he was made deputy chairman of the party was near top of the list when it came to the MPs local associations wanted to speak at their events. When No. 10 gave him the role back in February, the idea was that he would help Rishi Sunak in his appeal to the 2019 coalition – with Anderson a straight-talking red wall MP.

This week there was evidence, too, of how his comments can make life uncomfortable for Labour. His comment that asylum seekers who take issue with being housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge ought to ‘f*** off back to France’ were not directly repeated by ministers but they did allow more mild-mannered Tory politicians such as justice secretary Alex Chalk to say they agreed with the sentiment and indignation at the cost of putting asylum seekers in hotels. Meanwhile, Labour politicians were asked whether they did too. This is uncomfortable territory for Keir Starmer’s party as the Labour leader is trying to tread a careful line of not actually criticising the Tories’ immigration stance on moral grounds – and instead simply on the idea their plans don’t work. Comments like Anderson’s tend to attract indignation from the left.

But Anderson was always an unpredictable hire. Part of what endears him to his colleagues is the fact that he is not a cardboard cut out politician – he says things others don’t. But that includes declaring this week that the government has failed on small boats – which while may be the view of many in the party is not the official line. A Tory MP declaring the Tories have failed is ideal fodder for a Labour election leaflet.

So is Anderson Sunak’s secret weapon or a liability? In No. 10, there remain senior Downing Street aides who take the first view – that he is an important asset for a Prime Minister often accused of being too smooth and at times out of touch. Yet Anderson isn’t the sole attack dog coming into an election year. He is one part of a much wider strategy to get more political and take the fight to Labour.

Labour’s attack ads from the spring were seen in government as a green light to go harder: ‘His strategic mistake was to step in the gutter,’ argues one senior government figure of Starmer. As one No. 10 figure put it in a meeting with colleagues recently: ‘The gloves are off and we are going to run at everything to expose how the country would be worse off under Labour. Boats, crime, energy and more.’ That means attacks on boats as well as a focus on Starmer’s record from his time as a DPP. But these will be coming from not just Anderson but ministers – and also Sunak himself.