Richard Tice delivers defiant message ahead of 'two-horse race' against Andy Burnham: 'Vote Reform, make Burnham history!'

Richard Tice has declared that Reform UK will "make Andy Burnham history" ahead of the upcoming Makerfield by-election.

Speaking to GB News, the Deputy Leader of the party argued that the upcoming ballot is a "two-horse race" between Mr Burnham and Reform, and the Tories are "irrelevant".

Expressing his excitement at the upcoming by-election, Mr Tice told GB News: "What a lovely day, isn't it exciting?

"We've got a great by-election ahead of us!"

Mr Tice revealed that the selection panel are "looking at a number of options" for who will stand against Mr Burnham.

He said: "We will have a great candidate. We will, I'm absolutely sure, select someone who has the best chance and who will ultimately defeat Andy Burnham.

"And our simple campaign is vote Reform, make Burnham history, and that is the point."

The Reform deputy leader argued that the party has "already replaced" Andy Burnham as the so-called 'King of the North', following their success at last week's local elections.

Mr Tice told GB News: "With the fantastic results we got last week in the local elections, we won whole councils all over the north from Gateshead, Sunderland and Barnsley, Wakefield, Saint Helens and the like.

"So look, the North has already spoken and isn't it great? We could defeat him in this by-election as and when it comes."

Asked by host Ellie Costello whether Reform will ask the Tories to "step aside" in the election, Mr Tice made clear that it already a "two-horse race".

He said: "The Tories are irrelevant, frankly, north of about Saint Albans, so they'll do what they want to do.

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"Extraordinarily, yesterday, they decided to team up with the open borders, pro-heroin Green Party - vote Tory, get Polanski is the new slogan.

"So forget the Tories, it's a two-horse race and we will take him on and we'll do it."

Remaining determined to beat Mr Burnham in the election, Mr Tice declared that if they do win, it will "prove that no one can in the Labour Party can beat Reform".

He said: "It'll be close, and we're no way complacent. It'll be a hard fought electoral battle, and we will throw everything at it in order to win with a great candidate.

"But the reverse is also true, that if we defeat him, when we defeat him, it will essentially prove that no one can in the Labour Party can beat Reform and that's our ambition."

However, he admitted that the ultimate decision lies with the people of Makerfield.

He told GB News: "But ultimately, it's up to the good voters of Makerfield. I would just remind people in the general election, almost 13,000 of them voted for our Reform candidate.

"And just last week, we won every single ward at a canter in the local elections in the Makerfield constituency."