Reform UK’s Richard Tice was torn apart on Channel 4 News last night when he tried to blame the NHS’s struggles and our economic woes on immigration.
Tice – who does not have a seat in parliament at the moment – said the Tories are terrified of his party splitting their vote, because Brits know the Conservatives have “broken Britain”.
He explained: “Slower healthcare, more health delays, ambulance delays, A&E delays, greater waiting lists – the greatest ever. Why?
“Because the huge extra pressure, because the Tories have betrayed Britain on mass immigration.”
The Conservatives vowed to cut migration, but recent stats showed net migration reached a historic high under Tory rule.
Channel 4 News’ Cathy Newman replied: “Well, the waiting lists could be just as much to do with the fact that we’ve got an ageing population, a sicker population.
“Migrants tend to be pretty young,” she pointed out.
“Actually it’s all to do with the extra surge in demand,” Tice said.
’What, the NHS waiting list?” Newman said with incredulity. “All the migrants are young, they’re not going to put particular pressure on...”
“So you’re saying that none of the 2.5m who have arrived here in the last two years, none of them are using the NHS? That’s ridiculous, Cathy. It’s a serious contributor,” Tice replied.
“No, I’m just querying your evidence for that,” Newman said.
“The evidence for that is... All elements of healthcare is a disaster,” Tice said.
Newman asked if he really believed Reform’s “net zero immigration” policy would actually boost the economy.
Tice said “absolutely”, and claimed that “basic economics” shows this would drives up demand for Labour.
But Newman hit back: “On the contrary, the basic economics is that the economy is fuelled by migration and that’s why successive administrations have allowed migration to flourish.”
The far-right party has only one MP right now – Tory defector, Lee Anderson – although Tice is standing in the Boston and Skegness constituency.
Nigel Farage, the party’s honorary president, was rumoured to be considering a return to lead Reform in a move expected to give the party a much-needed boost.
However, Farage claims he was “wrong-footed” by Rishi Sunak’s sudden election news and so has decided not to stand.
He said: “What I could not do in the space of six weeks… was to find a constituency from scratch and go around the country.”