‘It’s important to remember here that we didn’t come looking for a fight with Reform – they picked one with us’
Reform deputy leader Richard Tice has been accused of “childish behaviour” after he defended Nottinghamshire County Council’s Trump-esque decision to ban councillors from speaking to a local newspaper.
Last week, Nottinghamshire County Council leader Mick Barton announced that his 40 Reform councillors would no longer deal with the Nottingham Post and its online arm Nottinghamshire Live.
Barton was allegedly upset by an article that The Post wrote, which suggested not all councillors agreed on the plan for local government reorganisation.
The editor of Nottingham Post Natalie Fahy called the move “a massive attack on local democracy”, yet Tice has just backed the decision. Local Reform MP, Lee Anderson said he would boycott the paper too.
Tice claimed that Nottinghamshire Live had acted in “a way of activism against Reform”.
He also said that the ban was justified “if a certain media organisation distorts and completely acts in an irresponsible way”.
The Reform deputy leader claimed that Reform loves “criticism”. He said: “We love criticism, we love criticism, we get criticism more than anybody, probably.
He added: “We deal with it by performing. So no, there’s a difference between legitimate scrutiny and accountability and criticism – and activism.”
Fahy has blasted Tice’s comments, pointing out that Reform-led Nottinghamshire County Council had “shut up shop at the first whiff of a critical story”.
The editor added: “I completely refute the suggestion that our journalists have behaved as ‘activists’ when we simply reported that councillors may be suspended if they didn’t vote with the party on local government reorganisation options. That is a fact and it is not inaccurate.
“It’s important to remember here that we didn’t come looking for a fight with Reform – they picked one with us with no reasonable conversation or attempt to mediate at all. Reform’s voters are the ones suffering here and they deserve better than this childish behaviour.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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