Tensions flared on BBC Breakfast as Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, clashed with presenter Charlie Stayt over the party's performance in the Makerfield by-election. Labour's Andy Burnham secured a comfortable victory with a 9,000-vote majority, while Reform UK finished second. Stayt pressed Tice on what had gone wrong for his party, but Tice insisted the result reflected dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, not a failure of Reform UK.
Tice congratulated Burnham on holding a 'very safe Labour seat' that had been Labour for a century. He argued that voters in the by-election, as in local elections, were motivated by a desire to remove Starmer from office. 'In voting for Andy Burnham, they've reinforced that they want the Prime Minister gone,' Tice said, adding that Reform UK supporters had told him they were 'determined to get Starmer out'.
Stayt challenged Tice's refusal to acknowledge any shortcomings in Reform UK's campaign. 'You've said that already,' the presenter interjected as Tice repeated his point about the seat being safe. Tice retorted: 'That's the answer to your question. There's no point re-answering. There's no point in asking the same question; I'll give you the same answer.'
Tice acknowledged that Burnham is a 'high-profile candidate' but noted that Labour's name was absent from his posters, claiming the party is 'incredibly unpopular'. He concluded: 'Of course we would've loved to have won it, our reflection is, there is only one party that can beat the hard socialist currently in power, and that's Reform.' The exchange highlighted ongoing tensions between Reform UK and the BBC over election coverage.
