Richard Tice drops huge clue Reform UK is no longer just a protest vote

As Reform UK looks to flesh out its foreign policy agenda, deputy leader Richad Tice came out swinging this week against Communist China and its ally Mauritius. Speaking to the Latika Takes podcast for The Nightly, Tice called out the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and the weak position taken by both Labour and the Tories. Highlighting the threat posed to democratic Taiwan by the CCP, Tice spoke about British companies ill-preparedness for potential decoupling as well as how sanctions could be used against Beijing.

While stopping short of saying whether a Reform government would send troops in, on sanctions Tice argued "it may be stopping all students, all visas, who knows what that might be, but a whole raft of sanctions." It is worth remembering Chinese leader Xi Jinping's total commitment to blockading or invading democratic Taiwan. This isn't simply about getting hold of Taiwan's world-beating semiconductor sector or settling old scores from the Chinese civil war.

Taiwan sits right in the middle of the 'first island chain', a network of Western-allied states - including Japan to the north and the Philippines to the south, both of which host US troops - which currently blocks China's military from projecting into the Pacific.

Without taking Taiwan and blasting through this chain, China cannot hope to dominate its backyard and become the geopolitical equal of the United States. In many ways Xi and the CCP have banked their reputations on this.

Tice is then right that UK companies should be encouraged "to diversify away from China as a low-cost production centre". Tice can also rightfully claim his plan to scrap Net Zero could help by providing cheaper energy to a reindustrialising and decoupling UK plc.

Tice this week also warned his party would blacklist Mauritius over the handover of the British Chagos Islands to the Chinese ally.

The deal - part Labour and part Tory - has been widely condemned as going over the heads of local islanders. Tice warned if the islands are not handed back to the UK a Reform government would cancel visas, restrict flights and cut diplomatic ties.

While Mauritius officially commits to leasing the island of Diego Garcia to the UK and US military, given the island's strategic value in the event of World War Three, can we really trust Mauritius to honour the deal, or at least to not allow Beijing to spy on the base?

While Reform UK is best known for its domestic agenda, this cannot be divorced from foreign affairs. For example, immigration - by definition - is international in nature since it involves the cross-border movement of people.

Moreover, if - as looks increasingly likely - Reform forms the next government and Nigel Farage ends up in Number 10, the world needs to know exactly what a Reform government would look like.

In broadening the scope of Reform's policy agenda, Tice lends credibility to the party's claim to be government-ready. Meanwhile, if China makes good on its plan to take Taiwan, Farage could well find himself a wartime PM. It is therefore encouraging that Reform is today articulating a stronger position on global affairs.