Nigel Farage and property tycoon Nick Candy recently had a cosy chat with Elon Musk at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, sparking rumours that the Tesla billionaire could funnel up to $100 million into Reform UK. Naturally, party leader Richard Tice is thrilled, calling it a “fantastic endorsement of our policies to save Britain.”
But rewind to 2018, and Tice wasn’t so keen on overseas money meddling in UK politics.
“He Doesn’t Even Pay Tax Here!”
Back in his Brexit campaign days, Tice was co-chairing Leave Means Leave and had some choice words about Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros funding the anti-Brexit campaign Best For Britain.
In a clip now doing the rounds on social media, Tice fumed: “He doesn’t live here, he doesn’t pay taxes here. What right has he got to interfere with our democracy and try to overthrow the government? He has no right at all.”
Fast-forward to 2024, and it seems having deep pockets and an address outside the UK is no longer a dealbreaker—especially if those pockets belong to Elon Musk.
Musk Money: Double Standards or Pragmatism?
Tice has welcomed the potential Musk mega-donation, insisting it’s perfectly legal. And while critics have pointed out the glaring U-turn, the Reform UK leader seems unbothered by accusations of hypocrisy. After all, in politics, a billionaire’s blessing can smooth over most contradictions.
But whether this move is about “saving Britain” or just saving Reform UK’s bank balance, it’s clear that Tice’s 2018 remarks haven’t aged well.
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