Who is Richard Tice's girlfriend, Isabel Oakeshott? Reform UK leader clashes with BBC host Victoria Derbyshire over election strategy

The heated argument between politician Richard Tice and Victoria Derbyshire on BBC’s Newsnight has created a buzz across the country. The current Reform UK Party Leader was invited as a guest on Newsnight on January 3, 2024, where the discussion between the politician and the host quickly turned into a political debate.

When the host suggested how Tice was helping Keir Starmer make his way into Number 10, Tice shot back, saying,

“That’s how democracy works! If you want to be taken seriously, you’ve got to stand everywhere.”

Richard Tice joined the Reform UK Party in 2021 and is also a renowned multi-millionaire businessman. Tice and his girlfriend, Isabel Oakeshott, have been in a relationship since 2018, around the time when the Brexit Party was founded.

Oakeshott, who is a political journalist, has stood by Tice as he helped found the party and was appointed a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2019. The power couple has also been together through the decision to rename the party to Reform UK.

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Richard Tice’s girlfriend, Isabel Oakeshott, is currently an International Editor on TalkTV

Isabel Oakeshott at the UK General Election Results (Image by Getty Images)

Isabel Oakeshott is a journalist, a writer, and a mother of three. She started her career in journalism in Scotland and joined The Sunday Times as a deputy political editor in 2006. She has also appeared on the BBC’s Daily Politics as a panelist, alongside being a contributor to Sky News’ Press Preview program.

It is, however, Oakeshott’s writing career that has attracted more controversy than her journalism. In 2015, Call Me Dave – a non-fiction book Oakeshott co-wrote with Michael Ashcroft – was launched. It was an unauthorized biography of former Prime Minister David Cameron and contained some controversial details about his University days that caused a lot of stir after the publication.

Another major controversy that Oakeshott was associated with was leaking over 100,000 screenshots of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages. Hancock had reportedly shared the images with her for her assistance with co-writing his book under a strict NDA, which Oakeshott violated by allegedly mailing them to The Daily Telegraph.

Richard Tice met Oakeshott when he was still a businessman. Beyond politics, the two have also worked as presenters on TalkTV at different periods of time; Oakeshott is currently employed as an International Editor on the channel.

Before getting involved with Tice, she was married to Nigel Rosser and had three children with him.

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Derbyshire’s heated questioning of Richard Tice on BBC Newsnight

Victoria Derbyshire speaking at the EU Referendum Debate (Image by Getty Images)

Richard Tice has openly criticized the Labour Party in his campaigns, calling them out on their pursuit of the expensive Net Zero policies as well as their betrayal of the working class. To that end, he has even warned how Britain faces the catastrophes of economic incompetence, emphasizing that only his party can “save Britain.”

Richard Tice was on BBC Newsnight with the objective of influencing both Labour and Conservative Parties to recognize the wrongs in their policies and change course.

However, his conversation with Victoria Derbyshire didn’t go as smoothly as he’d have expected. Derbyshire started by sharing Lee Anderson’s statement, claiming how Reform UK’s actions in the next elections would result in Britain ending up with a Labour Government.

The host then asked Richard Tice if his goal was making it easier for Starmer to win the elections. To that, Tice retorted:

“What I am highlighting to the country is that both the main two parties cannot grow the economy because of their policies.”

Before Richard Tice could finish his statement, Derbyshire interjected him, claiming he was ignoring every question she asked. She then highlighted how Tice had promised to put a Reform UK candidate in every constituency, asking if it was a means to make way for Keir Starmer at Downing Street. Tice answered her question in negative, further adding:

“You have to punish failure. The Tories have broken Britain, we think that Labour will bankrupt Britain. We are the only party that can save Britain and you have to punish and oust the incompetent failures of 13 years of Tory rule. That is important.”

Without straying from the debate, Victoria Derbyshire put forward her final question:

“And if people agree with you on that, you must acknowledge that that will mean that Labour, Keir Starmer, will be the prime minister.”

In response, Tice noted:

“Let’s wait and see. That’s how democracy works. I want to shape and influence both main parties by recognizing their main policies are wrong and they’ve got to change course and, if not, we’re heading to disaster.”

The Newsnight interview took place soon after the launch of Reform UK’s new election gameplan at a London press conference, where Richard Tice proudly unveiled Ben Habib as a candidate at the Wellingborough by-election in 2024. He also hinted at the involvement of Nigel Farage in a supportive role but uncovered no other details, claiming that it was too early to show all his cards.