Richard Tice has publicly backed Reform UK councillors in South Tyneside after they voted to close all 10 council-run STANLEY’s nurseries, saying the administration had shown the “courage to make important decisions” as it sought to reduce spending.
The Reform UK deputy leader made the comments during an interview with Lewis Goodall on LBC on Sunday, 27 September, four days after South Tyneside Council’s cabinet approved the closure programme.
The 10 nurseries are due to close by July 2027, while reductions among the 116 staff employed across the service are expected to begin in December 2026.
The decision was met with shouts of “shame” from parents, nursery workers and Save Our Stanley’s campaigners attending the cabinet meeting.
Tice backs council’s ‘bold decisions’
Asked about the closures, Tice defended the Reform-run authority and argued that councillors sometimes had to make difficult choices.
He praised the council for having the “courage to make important decisions” and linked the closures to efforts to “get the bills down”.
Tice said voters had elected Reform councillors to take “bold decisions” and expressed confidence in those running the authority.
His intervention puts the national Reform UK leadership firmly behind a decision that has prompted months of protests from parents, staff and trade unions.
All 10 nurseries to close
As Fish 4 News previously reported, South Tyneside Council confirmed on 23 September that all 10 South Tyneside Accredited Network for Learning in the Early Years, known as STANLEY’s, would close.
More than 400 children had been enrolled across the centres earlier in the summer, with campaigners warning that losing the council-run provision could put additional pressure on private and voluntary childcare providers.
The council’s lead member for children’s services, Michelle Fascione, has said the authority is spending around £1.1 million a year subsidising the nurseries and that continuing to operate them is not financially viable.
The council has also pointed out that while it has responsibilities around ensuring sufficient childcare provision is available, it is not legally required to operate the nurseries itself.
Review began under Labour
The closure decision has also produced a political argument over responsibility for the process.
The review of South Tyneside’s council-run childcare provision began under the previous Labour administration before Reform UK took control of the authority in the May 2026 local elections.
Reform subsequently continued that review and its cabinet took the final decision to close all 10 nurseries.
That distinction is important. Reform did not initiate the original review, but the current administration chose complete closure and Tice has now publicly defended that decision.
Parents continue to oppose closures
Campaigners have argued that the STANLEY’s centres provide more than basic childcare, describing them as community hubs providing early-years education, family support and services for children with additional needs.
Save Our Stanley’s has called on the council to reverse the closures and consider alternatives, while warning that the loss of experienced nursery staff could begin affecting families well before the formal July 2027 closure date.
Parents have also questioned whether alternative childcare places will be available in suitable locations and whether replacement provision will meet the needs of children requiring additional support.
For Tice, however, the decision represents the kind of difficult financial choice Reform councils were elected to make.
His comments mean the closure of South Tyneside’s nurseries is no longer simply a local council dispute. The party’s deputy leader has now explicitly presented it as an example of Reform councillors making the difficult spending decisions he believes voters asked them to take.
