Senior Conservative Lee Anderson has clashed Richard Tice after dubbing the Reform UK party leader a “pound shop Nigel Farage”.
The deputy Tory chairman told Mr Tice to “pipe down” in his attacks on the government, as the right-wing rivals squabble at the start of a general election year.
Mr Anderson has previously branded Reform UK “amateurs”, after claiming he was offered a “guaranteed” job for five years on £80,000 salary to defect to the party.
The senior Tory renewed his spat with the insurgent party, as speculation mounts that Mr Farage could return to take up a top role for Reform UK in the election campaign.
“I get on with Richard reasonably well, but I would say this – he’s not Nigel Farage, he’s not the leader that Nigel Farage was,” Mr Anderson told GB News.
“In fact, I agree with one of my constituents, who said to me earlier today he is a bit of a pound shop Nigel Farage,” he said.
The Tory deputy chairman added: “I think he’s a pound shop Nigel Farage and every time he opens his mouth recently on whichever media platform, he is coming across as Reform’s answer to Diane Abbott. He’s just saying ridiculous things.”
Richard Tice outlining Reform UK’s plans to ‘Save Britain’— (PA)
“I think he needs to pipe down a little bit,” Mr Anderon added. “Because if the unthinkable happens and next year, we do get a Labour government and Richard Tice is on his media platforms, saying what a disaster ‘Starmergeddon’ and … the Labour party are, I shall be reminding Mr Tice it was him that helped them get elected.”
Mr Tice – who warned in a speech on Wednesday that Labour would bring on “Starmergeddon” – fired back at Mr Anderson on LBC radio on Thursday.
The Reform UK leader said: “Lee, who I like and is a nice guy, is terrified that he’s going to lose his seat.”
“And perhaps he’s just a bit jealous that I’m pound shop, and he’s 30p Lee,” Mr Tice added.
The reference is to “30p Lee” nickname given to Mr Anderson by anti-government campaigners for his comments dismissing food bank use and claim that meals could be cooked from scratch “for about 30 pence a day”.
Lee Anderson has revived spat with Richard Tice— (Getty)
The Reform UK leader “categorically” ruled out any deal with the Tories at the 2024 general election during a launch speech for the long campaign on Wednesday.
Mr Tice insisted Reform would not do a deal with the Conservatives under any circumstances. And he claimed Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir were “socialist twins”.
In 2019, the group – called the Brexit Party at the time – stood down hundreds of candidates to help Boris Johnson secure a majority.
He gave his strongest hint that his predecessor Mr Farage will take on a frontline role in the election campaign – though the latter was notably absent from the launch, suggesting it is unlikely he will make an eighth bid to become an MP.
Luke Tryl, director at More in Common, said Reform could see the Tories lose more than 30 additional seats – including chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s South West Surrey constituency
The pollster told The Independent: “Reform could well be the difference between a hung parliament and a Labour majority.”
Earlier this week Mr Anderson admitted Mr Farage’s party is a major threat on the right – lashing out at the rivals being a “bigger threat to the country at the moment than the Labour Party”.
Mr Anderson – handed a key role by Mr Sunak earlier this year – revealed in November that he was offered a five-year job with Reform UK on an £80,000 salary if he defected to the party.
The deputy chairman denied accusations by Mr Tice that he had used the offer as leverage to get the senior role in the Tory party.
Mr Tice denied that any “cash or money” has been offered to Tory MPs to join – but said he has held “numerous discussions” with Tories worried about Mr Sunak.
