Tice said Reform hadn’t pledged to cut council tax, but several local election leaflets prove otherwise
Reform’s deputy leader got caught out on Times Radio after denying that his party had pledged to cut people’s council tax bills.
On Times Radio, Richard Tice said that a Times headline which said that Reform promised to bring council tax down is “simply untrue” and “has to be corrected”.
The article headline stated: “Reform councils to raise tax for 2m households despite pledging cuts.”
“We said we would save money, I’ll be giving a press conference in two weeks’ time about that, but you must correct that untruth,” Tice said.
“We didn’t say we’d bring the council tax bills down,” he added.
Times Radio presenter Stig Abell was quickly able to point out that it wasn’t “untruth”.
Abell reminded Tice: “The Times quotes the leaflets, the Warwickshire Reform Party leaflet said ‘we will cut your taxes’. The Worcestershire Party leaflet said ‘We will reduce waste and cut your taxes’.”
“That sounds like promises to cut taxes to me.”
Tice doubled down, claiming Reform did not pledge to cut council tax before May’s local elections.
Abell challenged Tice again: “I’m saying there’s two leaflets, from two Reform campaigns in local elections. One in Warwickshire, one in Worcestershire and they say the phrase ‘cut your taxes’, Richard.”
“But we specifically very never [sic] said that at the party leadership level, so I just want that to be corrected,” Tice continued.
The Times Radio presenter replied: “But at the local level which is where indeed local elections take place, the leaflet said we will cut your taxes in Warwickshire. Worcestershire said they will cut your taxes.”
Tice continued to say Reform had not promised to cut taxes, despite the evidence written in his party’s leaflets. He said: “Then you send me those leaflets because I’m telling you that Nigel and I, we very clearly said we will cut waste, we will cut wasteful, unproductive spending.”
Abell concluded: “You can talk about the national level all you like, but at local level people got in saying we’re going to cut taxes and that hasn’t happened.”
Reform UK has suggested it plans to raise council tax next year in eight of the 12 councils it runs.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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