Political reporter
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has said the UK could learn from Dubai’s national pride and low crime levels.
In a BBC interview, he said the UK should “aspire to” the kind of safety seen in the Emirati capital – where he claimed people leave belongings unattended and return to find them untouched.
Tice splits his time between Westminster, his Skegness constituency and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which he said he visits “once every six to eight weeks” to spend time with his partner, journalist Isabel Oakeshott.
Speaking on Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, Tice said Dubai was not “perfect”, but argued politicians are ignoring lessons from countries “getting it right”.
Tice’s comments come after his partner, journalist Isabel Oakeshott, recently wrote about her experience of moving to Dubai.
In a column for the Telegraph, she called the city the “ultimate multi-cultural success story” and praised its “booming economy” and “culture of respect.”
Tice said he agreed with her.
The practice of standing for the anthem every morning in Dubai schools “educates children about being proud of the country that you are living in,” he argued.
Dubai is ruled as an absolute monarchy, with a hereditary royal family at the head of government, and was found by Amnesty international to jail political prisoners.
It is ranked 152 out of 183 for civil liberties on the international table maintained by Sweden’s Varieties of Democracy Institute.
Pressed that the UAE did not share Western values, Tice said: “No-one’s saying everything’s perfect about it”, but added: “Our basic British values at the moment are not working”.
“Crime is through the roof, people who commit crimes are not being required to serve proper justice,” he said.
“Foreign criminals are blocking up our jails – so yeah, the country is not working for British citizens.
“And that’s why they voted for Reform in massive numbers where they’re allowed to vote.”
Reform won most votes, most seats and overall control of the most councils at the local elections in England on 1 May, where it also took the Runcorn and Helsby constituency off Labour in a tightly-fought by-election.
Elsewhere in the interview, Tice suggested he would like to become chancellor if Reform UK leader Nigel Farage were to become prime minister.
“I enjoy dealing with money,” Tice said.
“I have been involved in dealing with money in my business career over decades, and that sort of is part of my journey.”
Tice, who attended the £16,000 per-term Uppingham School, agreed that he was born “with a silver spoon in his mouth”.
But he argued, “It is what you do with it” that counts.
“It is whether you roll your sleeves up, get stuck in, work hard and try and make a difference.
“And in a sense, as I look back that is what I hope that I’ve done and continue to do”.
