Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has set out ambitions to transform high streets and launch a council housebuilding revolution for British workers under 35, ahead of the party's "biggest conference ever" in Birmingham.
The 61-year-old former property developer described the state of town centres as a "national emergency" but said he is confident the "spiral of decline" can be broken with the right planning changes and tax incentives.
Building on a Family Legacy
"I've always loved building," he said. "I come from a family of builders, contractors, property people… It's something I know I can deliver."
One of his most spectacular building projects has been transforming the Brexit Party into Reform UK and seeing it win, by its own tally, more than 270,000 members. He compared the party's team to "the perfect cocktail on a Saturday night", pointing to the business backgrounds of himself, Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf, and the experience in Government of ex-Conservatives Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman.
Already, he argues, Reform has changed Britain. "Thanks to us, British Steel has been saved," he said, taking credit for pushing Labour into bringing the company into public ownership; a priority now is "refurbishing the existing two blast furnaces in Scunthorpe".
Credit for Changing Prime Minister
He also puts the recent change of prime minister down to Reform's campaigning. "We take the credit for getting Keir Starmer out," he said. "Our slogan in the May elections, when we did amazingly [and] terrified Labour, was: Vote Reform, Get Starmer Out. And people voted Reform, and they got Starmer out."
Asked how Reform will adjust its strategy now that Mr Burnham and John Healey have replaced Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves as prime minister and Chancellor, he said: "We'll just put forward great policies," adding: "Look, we want our country to do well. We're full of hope and optimism that we can save it. We can stop the relentless decline [under] the Tories and Labour, and we can turn it around."
Housing Ambitions and Tax Warning
Just as Margaret Thatcher transformed the lives of families across the nation and strengthened Britain's reputation as a property-owning democracy by giving tenants the right to buy their council home, he wants people to end up owning the houses he plans to build. "When you have a stake in your street, your house, your community, you invest in it, you look after it better, and you urge people in the same street to look after their properties better, because that then increases the value of everybody's properties, and that's a great thing," he said.
But he does not intend to replicate the Conservative policy in every detail: "The mistake back then was not to reinvest the proceeds into building more council homes."
He suspects voters may get to vote for a change of government long before the last possible date for a general election in August 2029, and expects the looming autumn Budget will be a flashpoint: "I think that John Healey will be forced to raise taxes, and that will be even more catastrophic… We've said for over a year that we need to prepare for a 2027 election because the finances of the country are in such a terrible, perilous state."
Energy Policy and Controversy
Mr Tice remains an unashamed opponent of net zero policies. Setting out his own priority, he said: "We need more energy use, not less. And to do that, you've got to have cheap energy." He added: "I describe net zero as, alongside mass low-skilled immigration, the greatest policy mistake made by the wallies in Westminster this century."
Mr Tice argues that while "climate change is real" it "would be much cheaper and smarter to adapt to it than think that you can stop it". He is frustrated at the scale of Britain's energy imports and fears for national security: "What happens if the Russians chop the interconnectors?"
Reform may trigger further controversy when the conference is addressed by Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old Right-winger who is seen as Marine Le Pen's heir apparent in the National Rally party. France, Mr Tice says, is "one of our dear neighbours, and it's really important that we have a very strong relationship with him. And so it makes complete sense to reinforce that. And stopping the boats is absolutely critical, and he understands that, and he understands that our plans to 'rescue and return' are a vital part of that. You're not going to stop them any other way. It's as simple as that."
Much of Reform's attention this summer has been focused on fighting the Clacton by-election. The contest – triggered by Mr Farage after he faced an investigation into a £5million donation – was boycotted by Britain's major parties. But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to put forward a "serious candidate" if the resumed investigation culminates in another by-election.
This longtime ally of Mr Farage is in no doubt why his Brexiteer comrade wants to be prime minister: "Nigel's drive as leader of this party is to make stuff happen."
