Reform UK Proposes University Cuts Amid Internal Conflict

Reform UK representatives held a press conference in Enfield to unveil a new apprenticeship policy and address internal party turmoil. Richard Tice, the party's deputy leader, proposed a 30% wage credit for small and medium-sized businesses hiring 16-18 year olds, alongside a £2,000 retention bonus. The party intends to fund the estimated £1.5bn to £2bn cost by banning foreign students from taxpayer-funded loans and cutting funding for degrees deemed non-vocational.

Education spokesperson Suella Braverman advocated for the closure of most universities, characterizing them as generators of student debt. She specifically targeted degrees such as gender studies, arguing there is no value in such qualifications. Tice supported this shift toward vocational training, dismissing concerns about student loans on the government balance sheet by stating, "Cash is cash."

During the event, Tice defended the party's decision to suspend senior activist Tim Montgomerie. The suspension followed Montgomerie's public criticisms of party leader Nigel Farage regarding a £5 million donation and Farage's absence from the Clacton by-election victory count. Tice argued that internal disagreements should be handled like a corporate boardroom and kept behind closed doors, denying that the party has become thin-skinned.