Tice defends Reform UK-led councils over tax rises and cuts

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has defended decisions to raise council tax and cut spending at local authorities led by the party in England.

Tice faced questions about the party's record in local government in a round of interviews with BBC radio stations ahead of its annual conference this week.

He was asked why Reform UK-led councils had raised council tax, with presenters suggesting the party had given the impression it would do the opposite.

Tice argued Reform UK councillors had shown they were "financially prudent" and were "doing a good job of getting to grips with wasteful spending".

The BBC interviews focused on Reform UK's policies in local government, where the party gained control of 24 councils following local elections this May and last year.

But they also covered national issues and the role of Nigel Farage, following a difficult summer of questions about a £5m gift received and not declared by Reform UK's leader.

The gift, and the parliamentary investigation into it, attracted more attention than the party would have liked in recent months, distracting from its policy announcements on immigration and welfare.

Asked whether he would be prepared to lead the party, should Farage stand down, Tice insisted "Nigel is going nowhere" and would lead the party into the next general election.

The party's conference in Birmingham this week is an opportunity for Reform UK to regain some political initiative and show it is capable of governing.

The party's conference, Tice said, would be about "the first 100 days of a Reform government".

He said Reform UK would be talking about "hope, optimism, and how to create some growth as we start to rebuild Britain".

Council tax came up several times in the interviews with Tice.

In March this year, Farage pledged that if his party took control of further councils in May's local elections, it would ensure council tax rises in those areas would be lower than in those run by any of the other parties.

Tice said a council tax rise of 9% in Worcestershire , while Reform UK was in minority control of the county council, was the "right and proper thing".

Speaking to BBC Hereford & Worcester, he said: "We had to be honest with people and say the council is effectively bust."

Reform UK lost control of the county council on 14 May, after councillors from the party ousted their own leader before a coalition made up of the Green Party, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and independents took over.

Other topics in the interviews included spending cuts by Durham County Council , led by Reform UK.

Tice said he "trusted our councillors to make those judgements themselves".

He told BBC Radio Cornwall that more affordable housing was "absolutely vital" in areas like theirs, adding his party would introduce a right-to-buy scheme to help people get on the ladder.

He told BBC Radio Leicester climate change was real, but the government should focus on adapting to it - rather than "arrogantly thinking we can stop it".

BBC Radio Newcastle asked Tice if Reform UK was doing enough to ensure professional standards in local government after resignations, expulsions and suspensions in the north east of England, and he responded that "the most professional thing to do is save money".

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, Tice said Reform UK was "driving the way the decisions are being made" on the Isle of Wight after winning 19 of 39 seats in May.

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