Richard Tice

Conservative Party

Before joining the Brexit Party, Tice was a donor and member of the Conservative Party for most of his adult life.^[3][17] Tice wrote a 2008 report for the think tank Reform called "Academies: A model education?".^[8] In 2017, he co-wrote a pamphlet for the think tank UK 2020, "Timebomb: how the university cartel is failing Britain's students", which included recommendations on how to expand two-year degrees.^[18] He produced a follow-up report on student finances called "Defusing the debt timebomb" which he sent to the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond.^[19]

In a May 2018 article on the ConservativeHome website, Tice argued for the importance of expanding the availability of homes for people on lower incomes and how this could be achieved more effectively. He felt that crime could also be reduced if housing was better managed.^[20]

Euroscepticism

Tice is a Eurosceptic. He was a director of the campaign group, Business for Sterling,^[21] which campaigned for the United Kingdom not to adopt the Euro in the late 1990s.^[22] Tice donated £1,750 to the Eurosceptic MP David Davis' candidacy in the 2001 Conservative Party leadership election.^[23]

In July 2015, Tice co-founded, with the businessman Arron Banks, the pro-Brexit Leave.EU campaign group. It was originally known as The Know.EU before being rebranded in September of that year.^[24] He also donated £38,000 to the pro-Brexit campaign group Grassroots Out.^[25] Shortly after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum, he left Leave.EU, and co-founded the pressure group Leave Means Leave,^[26] co-chairing it with businessman John Longworth. In October 2017, they were placed jointly at Number 90 on Iain Dale's list of the "Top 100 Most Influential People on the Right".^[27]

Tice, Banks, Andy Wigmore and Nigel Farage were referred to by sections of the media as the "Bad Boys of Brexit", a group who facilitated it.^[28] Tice wrote a number of articles advocating a no-deal Brexit,^[29] and was the first to use the phrase, "no deal is better than a bad deal" in relation to Brexit in July 2016, which was later used by then-Prime Minister Theresa May in her Lancaster House speech outlining the government's approach to negotiations in January 2017.^[30]

Brexit Party and Reform UK

In his role as the chairman of the Brexit Party he regularly represented it with appearances in the media, including inclusion on the panel of BBC Radio 4's Any Questions?.^[31] He was the chairman when the party participated in the 2019 European Parliament election, under Nigel Farage's leadership.^[32] In that election, it won 29 seats in the European Parliament, having existed for only six months.^[33]

Tice stood as a candidate at the 2019 European Parliament election. He was first on his party's list in the East of England constituency, and was elected as one of its three MEPs for that region.^[34] In the European Parliament, he was a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, and was part of the delegation for relations with Canada.^[6]

In November 2019, it was announced that Tice would be standing as the Brexit Party candidate for the Hartlepool constituency at the 2019 general election.^[35] He finished in third place, with 25.8% of the vote.^[36]

On 30 October 2020, Farage applied to the Electoral Commission to change the Brexit Party's name to Reform UK.^[37] On 6 March 2021, it was announced that Tice would become Leader of Reform UK following Farage's resignation.^[38]

In March 2021, Tice announced he would be the Reform UK candidate for the Havering and Redbridge constituency in the 2021 London Assembly election.^[39] He came second-to-last with 5,143 votes.^[40][41] Tice was also the lead Reform UK candidate on the Londonwide list, though the party finished tenth with 1% of all votes cast.^[42] Reform UK under Tice's leadership gained only two councillors in the 2021 local elections.^[43]

In December 2021, Tice stood in the by-election for the Old Bexley and Sidcup constituency following the death of the sitting MP, James Brokenshire. He received 1,432 votes, a 6.6% vote share.^[44]

In June 2024, Tice stood down as leader and was replaced by Farage, after his return to frontline politics. Tice stood in Boston and Skegness at the 2024 general election and was elected to Parliament after defeating the incumbent Conservative, Matt Warman.^[4][5] In addition to Tice, four other Reform UK candidates were elected to parliament; Farage, Lee Anderson, Rupert Lowe and James McMurdock. In January 2025, Tice voted along with all other Reform UK MPs for a new national inquiry into rape gangs. Reform UK was the only party to vote in unison. The bill was lost at 364 votes to 111, a majority of 253, against the amendment.^{[45][46][47][48]}

On 17 February 2026, Tice was appointed to the Nigel Farage's frontbench team as spokesperson for Business, Trade, and Energy Policy.^[49]

On the 23 February 2026, Tice announced that a Reform government would end defined benefit pension schemes for new local government workers and merge existing schemes into a proposed £500bn British Sovereign Wealth Fund. He said the plan would increase investment in UK industries and be accompanied by changes to environmental policy and employment rights. Trade unions and representatives of the Labour and Conservative parties, criticised the proposals and raised concerns about workers’ benefits and broader economic impacts.^[50]

Climate change

In November 2025, when asked by Sky News if humans have impacted the climate, Tice said: "Possibly, but if so, a very modest percentage." He accepted the need to update infrastructure in Britain to cope with a changing climate. When asked whether he accepted that the climate was warming at an unprecedented rate, Tice said: "From the data that I've seen, from previous ice core data, I think the answer to that is questionable." NASA has stated "human activity is the principal cause" of unprecedentedly fast warming and 234 UN scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have said it is "unequivocal" that humans have caused "widespread and rapid changes".^[51]

International politics

In 2022, Tice co-authored with Sam Ashworth-Hayes a paper for the Henry Jackson Society which argued that international sanctions failed to deter Russia from invading Ukraine and that this should be a lesson for the West's approach to China on the issue of Taiwan. They wrote that "sanctions against China should be planned in advance, and clear warning given to relevant private sector actors and sectors that they will be expected to cease business with China in the event of a conflict with Taiwan".^[52]

When referring to the U.S. Republican Party politician, Ron DeSantis in late April 2023, Tice described him as "a courageous, bold leader and that's very interesting" and someone who "doesn't muck about — he just gets stuff done and tells it as it is" and said that he was trying to establish links with DeSantis.^[53]

During Prime Minister's Question Time in February 2025, Tice argued that British tax money should not be used to fund UNRWA and stated that the organisation is "riddled with Hamas sympathisers" citing evidence given by British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari who had been held captive by Hamas.^[54] In May 2025, Tice gave a keynote speech at an event in Hampstead organised by the National Jewish Assembly in which he said the “scariest and hardest” thing to do in the House of Commons was to speak up for Israel and the Jewish community.^[55] In October 2025 he described the Gaza Strip famine as "a blatant lie", saying he had witnessed "great convoys of lorries...loaded up with vital aid" entering Gaza during a visit to the border.^[56]

Tice strongly criticised Starmer's handling of the scandal surrounding Peter Mandelson's relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, accusing him of a "woefully incompetent judgment" and of "misleading" Parliament. He and Reform UK have also raised questions about the vetting process for Starmer's appointment of Mandelson as British Ambassador to the United States. Tice stated that Starmer humiliated the country by appointing Mandelson despite public knowledge of his links to Epstein. Tice said Starmer misled the House of Commons by first expressing confidence in Mandelson on 10 September 2025 then dismissing him a day later. He also questioned how Starmer could credibly maintain his confidence in Mandelson with the emerging evidence. Tice and Reform UK have challenged the vetting process, stating that Starmer was wrong to claim that "full due process" had been followed. This came after it was revealed that Mandelson was not subjected to in-depth security vetting until after his appointment was announced.^[57]

Tice supported Israel and the USA from the outset of the 2026 Iran conflict. He said that if Reform was in government, “we would be helping the Americans and the Israelis in any way they saw appropriate”.^[58] Tice said that the conflict would cause a “short-term bump” but the medium and long-term opportunities were “potentially very good for everybody”.^[59]