Reform UK held a press conference on August 15 at a decorating company headquarters in Enfield, with Richard Tice and Suella Braverman promoting apprenticeships while denouncing many university degrees as a waste of time. The event, the second such conference in a week, came as the party faces internal disputes and questions over its funding models, with leader Nigel Farage notably absent.
Tice and Braverman Criticize School Subjects
Richard Tice opened the press conference by refusing to congratulate students who received their A-level results last week or their GCSE results on the day of the event. He claimed that 80% of students had either underperformed or wasted their time on what he called “Mickey Mouse” subjects. Tice questioned the value of modern languages, stating that foreigners should learn English, and dismissed history as “a load of crap about stuff that had happened a long time ago.” He argued that schools teach too much unnecessary material and that learning to think is overrated.
Suella Braverman, who served as a senior cabinet minister in successive Conservative governments until January 2024, criticized the government for letting down students over the past 15 years. She announced plans to cancel non-vocational degrees, close many universities, and turn Oxford University into what she called “Oxford Technical College.” Braverman specifically targeted gender studies as an example of wasteful education, according to her remarks at the press conference.
Apprenticeships and Business Background
Tice extolled the benefits of apprenticeships, recalling his first day on a construction site digging trenches with a JCB. He described this experience as the making of him, noting that within a few years he became CEO of his own property company. However, Tice omitted to mention that the business he ran was a family firm founded by his grandfather, according to the report. The article characterized Tice as a “nepo baby” who turned a large fortune into a small one.
Braverman proposed that businesses should be helped to take on apprenticeships, similar to Labour's policies. She argued that many degrees generate only student debt and that the higher education sector, worth billions of pounds, is a waste of time. The Reform UK offering on apprenticeships was presented as an alternative to the government's already announced apprenticeship scheme, which the article described as more thought-through.
Internal Party Disputes and Funding Questions
The press conference took place amid internal party strife, with Zia Yusuf reportedly becoming persona non grata after picking fights with almost everyone in the party. Tim Montgomerie is not allowed to discuss this openly until Farage decides how to handle Yusuf, according to the report. Farage himself remains in hiding, avoiding questions on Reform UK's unusual funding models and recovering from his byelection adventure in Clacton.
When questioned by the BBC about student loans qualifying as borrowing on the government balance sheet, Tice responded, “Cash is cash,” as if revealing a wonder of the universe. The article noted that this attitude will be written on the party's gravestone. Tice described the party's infighting as day-to-day disagreements and claimed things were going great. He looked forward to a potential recall petition in Clacton following a parliamentary standards investigation, calling the summer of fun “just gets better and better.”
