Good Morning Britain has been hit with a wave of Ofcom complaints following a heated on-air exchange between Susanna Reid and Reform UK Chairman Richard Tice.
The broadcasting regulator received 54 complaints after the episode of the ITV morning show that aired on July 10, with “the majority of complaints related to an interview with Richard Tice.”
During the fiery interview, Susanna was keen to understand if Reform UK’s goal was to “destroy the Conservatives” in the wake of Labour’s comprehensive general election victory.
Reflecting on the election results, Susanna stated: “Your party got a huge number of votes – four million across the board and just five MPs as a result. But you were responsible for getting rid of a huge number of Conservative MPs and candidates.”
Tice retorted with a sarcastic “Oh that’s a shame…” to which Reid responded: “Well you say that kind of sarcastically but what this resulted in is a Labour government, but you would have thought ideologically you were closer to the Tories.”, reports the Mirror.
He contended that the Tories had “betrayed” the nation on matters such as Brexit, immigration, and taxation, asserting there was “no difference” between the two parties.
Reid then challenged the politician: “Was your aim to destroy the Conservatives because you took a very different tack in this election compared to the last general election?”
Richard Tice, leader of the Reform UK party, defended his political stance on Good Morning Britain, asserting: “Our aim was to present to the British people a proper common sense series of policies and words spread and people in their millions decided to vote for us – that’s a great thing for democracy. We are getting huge traction among young people and I think everyone is the winner.”
He further outlined his party’s goal, saying they intend to be the “opposition to socialism” at the forthcoming general election, with Nigel Farage at the helm. The interview sparked a flurry of reactions from viewers on Twitter.
One viewer expressed dissatisfaction with the interview’s lack of neutrality, commenting: “Terrible interview- no impartiality at all. Love to see this treatment applied to @YvetteCooperMP.”
Another viewer switched off, frustrated by the perceived bias against any opposition to Labour: “Turned off can’t stand the contempt by these presenters to any opposition to Labour. Why don’t we ask Annalise Dodds what a woman is, ask Rachel Reeves how she’s going to backtrack on the tax promises she made!”
A third chimed in with criticism of the interview technique: “This was class Reid balls it right up.” Meanwhile, another viewer lamented the over-speaking and lack of opportunity given to Tice to express his views: “Joke of an interview, just over speaking and not letting the man speak they invited on…. they are meant to be impartial but it’s so obvious they are not.”
Yet, some viewers looked forward to future interviews, with one sharing: “Hope your interview with Ed Davey tomorrow is as entertaining.”
Another succinctly remarked on Tice’s performance: “Tice failed there! ” Despite Reform UK securing 14 per cent of the popular vote, they hold only five seats in Westminster due to the First Past the Post electoral system, having come second in 98 constituencies.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am
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