Attendees of a sea shanty festival in Cornwall have allegedly attacked a Reform Party candidate on the campaign trail. Only, the word ‘allegedly’ is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. This is because the source for the attacks was the Reform candidate himself and that bona fide paradigm of sincerity Richard Tice. What’s more, their story of events doesn’t quite match up with other eye-witness accounts on the incident. Yet the BBC and others have reported it without question.
Reform candidate attacked in Cornwall?
Cornwall Live first reported the story, stating that:
The Reform UK candidate for Truro and Falmouth has reportedly been attacked while campaigning in Cornwall. According to a report from Richard Tice, the party’s chairman, Steve Rubidge was assaulted and the assailant stole his bag.
Mr Tice confirmed that the incident had been reported to the police and that they had an image of the person responsible. He stated they would be pushing for a prosecution.
Then, big news story moment for local media, the outlet churned out two further articles on the incident. Naturally, one was a puff piece giving over publication space to Rubidge’s allegations.
The problem is, word around Falmouth wasn’t quite how the Reform candidate recounted it:
I live in Falmouth and I’ve heard the opposite has happened
— Ben (@B_webb2003) June 15, 2024
Corporate media peddling allegations from literal conspiracists
A local residents who witnessed the incident unfold contested Rubidge’s version of events. Another reported second-hand accounts from more who were present at the scene. Both came forward with their testimonies anonymously, in light of the far right’s record of violently targeting people.
One told the Canary how they were:
really shocked to see the way Cornwall Live and others have reported this. Just wanted to say what utter nonsense this version of events is! I was there with my family, and saw the whole thing as did many people and it was clear Steve was violent and aggressive. I saw him chasing a young person, assaulting them, punching them from behind and throwing them at a van and then on the floor.
We then saw two reform people shouting abuse at someone whilst chasing them through town and filming. We went back to events square later on but the Reform Party people were still there leafleting. Why did events square let them be there – especially after assaulting someone and chasing them through town shouting?
Echoing this, the second told us that:
I wasn’t there when the alleged assault happened but I live locally and spoke to a few people who were there who all said it was the reform candidate who chased and violently assaulted a young person.
Moreover, as the second anonymous commenter pointed out, Cornwall Live was platforming Rubidge’s account, without questioning the integrity of the source. And it was doing so despite the party’s form on pushing blatant conspiratorial lies:
I did go and speak to them. Not because I agree with them but was curious to know what they were saying. I spoke to one of his supporters who was handing out leaflets. He started telling me some wild conspiracy theories about how we were all going to have chips planted in our heads.
These people should not be taken seriously and I’m really concerned that our local press are publishing unsubstantiated allegations from far-right conspiracy theory idiots.
Tice “said so” so it must be true
Of course, local and national corporate media were only interested in shilling the Reform narrative.
Right-wing rag the Daily Express relayed Reform’s Richard Tice’s response to the events. Meanwhile, the BBC also amplified Tice’s comments, with bonus boost for the party’s public statement.
Some people on X poured scorn on the corporate media for relying on just one, highly questionable source:
Is a single Reform party spokesperson a good source to lead a story with? Playing into their propaganda.
His bag was probably stolen by an actual pirate!— Joe Gummow (@JoeGummow) June 17, 2024
No better source than “Tice said so”. Apparently the story around Falmouth is the complete opposite, that Rubidge is the one who should be investigated for assaulting a member of the public. Reform are pretty well known for playing the victim and lying through their teeth
— Kernow Bys Vyken (@Kernow1497) June 17, 2024
It’s not as if Tice’s entire political gambit hinges on contrarian untruths, surely? Fortunately, we have the receipts. Just within the last month Tice took to the BBC to bleat out his bullshit. Strike one: Labour and the Conservatives are offering “socialism”. As the Canary’s Steve Topple underscored, this is, put simply, a “flat-out lie and demonstrable nonsense”. Then, Tice careered into full-on climate conspiracy nut on the same show.
Predictably, the BBC let him push this incomprehensible guff, despite his obvious vested interests. Specifically, Topple pointed out the glaring conflict of interest: Tice’s fossil fuel funding.
In other words, local media, the Daily Express, and the BBC want us to take the word of a serial con-man. A guy who thinks the climate crisis is down to volcanoes, or wants you to think that – a sure-fire reliable source right there.
Because, it’s not as if there weren’t hundreds of festival-goers the outlets could interview or anything:
Yeah I heard it was the other way around, the reform guy is apparently the one who attacked someone else then claimed he was the victim. Seems most of Falmouth have heard that side of it because it happened during shanty festival, loads of people probably saw it
— Kernow Bys Vyken (@Kernow1497) June 17, 2024
Smaller voices shut out over Reform
Moreover, Tice and Rubidge couldn’t possibly harbour any motivations for making this up. Other than, that is, playing into Reform’s victim narrative to garner public sympathy for its brand of rancid, hate-mongering grifters.
Only, unfortunately, it’s just the sort of guff the right-wing-adoring corporate churnalists gleefully eat up for their clicks. He could have been mugged by a seagull and the press would have been all over his tale of a vicious attack by far-left comrade seabird. At the end of the day, it’s his word against these anonymous witnesses.
However, as one X poster astutely highlighted, it’s the smaller voices without a platform that the corporate media routinely shunts aside:
When wondering which side to believe I tend to go for the smaller voices desperately trying to get facts out there against the odds. https://t.co/81BztuAbvf
— Queen Nooka (@queen_nooka) June 15, 2024
That is the very reason we should be listening to them, and take anything Reform candidates vying for their own media milkshake moments with a massive serving of salt.
Feature image via Richard Tice – X
