Richard Tice: the donor turned politician who has bankrolled Reform

The party leader has often operated in Farage’s shadow, but is building a profile looking to outflank Sunak on the right

Four months ago, a prominent Conservative MP described Richard Tice as a “pound-shop Nigel Farage”.

That MP, Lee Anderson, would four months later defect to Tice’s party, Reform UK, after being suspended from the Tories for suggesting the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, was controlled by Islamists.