Reform UK's Richard Tice admits to LBC 'journalists are vetting candidates for us' as party rushes to fill 150 seats

23 May 2024, 15:15 | Updated: 23 May 2024, 16:20

Reform UK's Richard Tice admits to LBC 'journalists are vetting candidates for us'

By Fraser Knight.

@Fraser_Knight

‘Journalists are vetting our candidates for us,’ admits Reform UK leader as party races to find enough candidates

Richard Tice, the leader of Reform UK, has admitted the party relies on the press to vet its candidates fully - telling LBC, “It’s great,” ahead of the General Election.

During his campaign launch in Westminster, declaring the upcoming vote as an “immigration election”, the 59-year-old millionaire announced that he would stand candidates in every seat in England, Scotland and Wales, “no ifs, no buts”.

But so far, only around 500 out of 630 have been secured, with just over two weeks left to find the rest.

It has raised questions about the thoroughness of Reform’s vetting, after the recent suspension of candidates, over past social media posts and offensive views.

Richard Tice told LBC: “The great thing is that lots of the press are doing that job for us. It's a huge job.

“We’ve got a vetting company but one of the things it relies on is actually people telling the truth.

“And the vetting is a bit like an MOT, it’s valid on the day that you pass but if someone then writes or says something daft one week later, or a year later, then you’ve got to deal with it.

“But I repeat, we will deal with people who behave inappropriately better and faster than any of the parties who try to kick the can down the road.”

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Earlier this week, Reform’s Derbyshire candidate was also suspended after using an official party social media account to share a video from a ‘far right’ St George’s Day celebration in London.

Reform admitted that it was caught out by the surprise announcement of a General Election by Rishi Sunak on Wednesday - before party bosses had a chance to register as a party in Northern Ireland, meaning they’ll unlikely be able to stand any candidates there.

Before the campaign launch, the party was also dealt a blow as its honorary president Nigel Farage announced he would not be standing in the election.

In a statement, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader, said he had "thought long and hard” as to whether he should stand, adding: “"Important though the general election is, the contest in the United States of America on November 5 has huge global significance.

"A strong America as a close ally is vital for our peace and security. I intend to help with the grassroots campaign in the USA in any way that I can.”

Richard Tice downplayed the significance of that to LBC, saying Farage would still support their campaign as well as the US Presidential one and would be “getting the best of all worlds”.

Reform UK announced last year that its leader would be seeking election in Hartlepool “whenever the next general election is”, but in a dramatic twist, Mr Tice told his campaign launch that instead, he’d be standing in Boston and Skegness.

Asked by LBC why he chose the seat, Mr Tice said: “We know it’s a very strong Brexit seat. We've got very good support there and it's currently represented by a wet socialist - sorry - One Nation Conservative and his support is collapsing because that's not what the voters of Boston and Skegness voted for.”

When asked if he’d move to the area, he said: “Well I will have an office there, and if I’m successful there then obviously we’ll have a home there as you would expect from any MPs across the country.”