We warned that the Gaza marches would incite hate – and we were right, says Reform deputy

Tice repeated his comments he made in the chamber in February, saying that the group was “riddled with Hamas”.

Farage’s deputy said he called for pro-Palestine marches “to be banned on Wednesday, October 11, 2023 and I said they would end up inciting hatred and antisemitism and violence. And sadly, I've been proven right.”

The 60-year-old also revealed to the JC that he would be visiting Israel for the first time later this month, something he was “really looking forward to”.

Tice was interviewed by the JC from the top deck of Reform UK’s battle bus, a turquoise double decker bearing the slogan “slash immigration, slash the cost of living and boost wages”.

The interview took place moments before Nigel Farage’s keynote speech – brought forward by several hours in response to the news of Angela Rayner’s dramatic resignation as deputy prime minister.

When it came to Israel, he said, Starmer’s party have behaved “abominably”. At an earlier event he spoke at he accused the prime minister of abandoning the hostages “with the disgraceful suggestion that now is a good strategic time to recognise a state of Palestine, and therefore rewarding Hamas”.

Tice added that he was “deeply, deeply horrified” by the explosion of antisemitism and anti-Israel hostility shortly after October 7.

“I went to a protest outside the Israeli Embassy on High Street Kensington, out of intrigue, on the evening of Monday, October 9 and asked a couple questions, and I was being railed at and ranted at. And I thought, this is not good, not good at all.”

He blamed both the police and political leaders for inaction and lack of leadership which allowed them to become more “emboldened”.

Tice said he was not complacent about the potential rise of antisemitism on the right of politics.

In recent years, figures on the US right such as Candace Owens, who was previously a host on outlet Daily Wire – a news site co-founded by conservative political commentator and Orthodox Jew Ben Shapiro – has promoted antisemitic ideas on social media.

Similarly, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has been criticised for hosting a guest who minimised the Holocaust on his podcast.

Although Tice has “never studied either of them” or their comments in any great depths, he says “where they’re taking their things” is “deeply concerning”.

“That's why we've got to stand up louder and shout louder, and we've got to be stronger and be proud of who we are.”

What about Reform UK’s other policies?

Elected as a Reform UK MP, but since suspended by the party, Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe has recently advocated for the banning of kosher and halal slaughter.

Tice is emphatic that his party would not do the same.

“Rupert's policies are his policies. They're nothing to do with Reform UK’s policies” which, he said, which were more focused on more bread-and-butter issues.

“The country is in serious trouble. It's in serious trouble on law and order, protecting the rights of the Jewish community, protecting Christian rights and it is in serious trouble financially. I'm incredibly focused on that side of things, because if we go bust as a nation, everything falls apart, and we are heading into a very bad place.”

When it comes to immigration there is no contradiction between wanting tougher controls on immigration and appealing to the Jewish community, according to Tice.

“We all want smart immigration, where people come in sensible numbers that can be absorbed into the community. And bear in mind our whole slogan is ‘family, community, country’, which I think is very aligned with the Jewish community”.

He continued: “When you come to the country, you've got to contribute to the country. You work, you integrate into the community, and you speak the language, and you respect the core values of the nation that you want to live in.”

Previous waves of immigration are different from what we’re seeing at present: “Mass, cheap, low skill immigration from people who don't speak the language turn up not to work, and actually, in some cases undermine the core culture and values of the country, in particular, the equality of women.”

The atmosphere in the main hall, where delegates at Birmingham’s NEC rushed to hear Farage’s hastily re-arranged speech, was part-panto, part WWE.

Before he takes the stage, Greater Lincolnshire Mayor Andrea Jenkyns – donning a sparkly jumpsuit with a Union Jack on it – reminded the audience to boo when she mentioned Labour.

Walking out to raucous applause, Farage attacked the growth of sectarian politics in the UK and claimed that more Labour MPs might seek to stand at the next general election under Corbyn and Sultana’s new party.

He was keen to poke fun at Labour’s misfortunes and the apparent disagreements on the far left: “Already they [Labour] are facing the threat of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. That's if the two could ever agree on anything.”

There was the usual tough talk on immigration: “We will stop what is a threat to our national security, what is a danger to girls and women on our streets. We will stop the boats, and we will detain and deport those who illegally break into our country”.

But there was also a new policy announcement. A government led by Reform UK would follow other Middle Eastern countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia and proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood.

“We would do the same,” he said.