‘They had their chance!’ Richard Tice slams the door shut on new defections to Reform

Richard Tice has confirmed the door has slammed shut for any future Tory defectors to Reform.

Speaking to GB News, Reform's economics spokesman told Camilla Tominey any potential Conservative mutineers had “had their chance” but added a caveat for any from the Labour jumpers.

Reform leader Nigel Farage had previously pledged his party would not accept any more Tory defectors after May 7, the date of the local elections across the country.

Now, Mr Tice has confirmed the bar was now in place and “that’s it” regarding the switching of allegiances.

Camilla questioned: “That’s it? So if somebody wants to defect, somebody really good, you're going to say no?”

“They've had the chance,” the Reform Economics Spokesman declared.

“What about the Labour Party? Don't you need more Labourites with the Tories?”

“We refer to Tories,” Mr Tice responded, hinting there would be room for mutineers from Keir Starmer’s party.

“I'm going to hold you to that,” the GB News host promised.

The Reform MP then added the restriction applied “between now and the general election”.

An incredulous Camilla asked: “Are you seriously telling me you’re not going to take any defections between now and the general election?

“You've got to find hundreds of candidates!”

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“We've just found nearly 5000 candidates, we're not short of them,” Mr Tice shot back.

“We've already had lots and lots of people express an appetite to be a Member of Parliament.

“We have great candidates, great policies, and we're going to win, and we're going to win big,” he pledged.

While the Reform MP was definitive about Tory defectors, Camilla pressed him on the day his party might have to “call on your Tory mates to prop you up” in Government.

The GB News host argued that, while Reform had been successful in the local elections, the results in the general election would translate to 284 seats.

“That's well short of a 326 majority, and you need a stonking majority because you've got a very ambitious legislative agenda,” she said.

However, Mr Tice rubbished the notion and bid the public to vote tactically “to secure what they want, which is a proper right-of-centre Government”.

“Anybody who doesn't want hard left socialism has to vote tactically for Reform,” he insisted.

To that end, Mr Tice declared: “We're now the biggest unionist party in Wales and Scotland. Labour has disappeared.

“The Tories are basically a soft, soggy southern party disappearing down a plughole.

“We are the party of the future that's going to save this country.”