On 3 August 2026, the UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards announced it is investigating Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, for possibly failing to declare an interest. The commissioner is the official watchdog who checks that Members of Parliament (MPs) follow the rules about telling the public about their money and connections. The news was posted on the commissioner's website and reported by The Guardian. Tice's page on the Parliament website already shows that part of the matter has been settled through a correction process, according to his registered interests page.

This new investigation comes just days after a separate complaint against Tice was dropped. On 29 July 2026, the standards watchdog decided not to look into a complaint about a loan of nearly £80,000 that Tice had reportedly not declared, as reported by The Guardian. That complaint was linked to George Cottrell, a figure connected to the Reform UK circle. The watchdog's decision closed one line of inquiry, but others stayed open.

Separately, police have reportedly started a criminal investigation into Tice over claims he failed to pay at least £98,000, according to Channel 4 News. It is not clear from public reporting whether the police investigation and the parliamentary investigation are looking at the same thing. They work in different ways: the commissioner checks whether MPs follow Parliament's own rules, while the police investigate possible crimes under regular law.

Tice is not the only senior Reform UK figure to face standards scrutiny. Nigel Farage's exit from Parliament paused the standards investigation into his conduct, as noted by the Hansard Society on 9 July 2026. The rules say that when an MP leaves Parliament, any active standards investigation stops, because the commissioner only has authority over current MPs. Tice is still a serving MP, so the process can continue through its normal steps: investigation, findings, and if needed, referral to a committee that can recommend punishments.

The correction process mentioned in Tice's register entry is a formal procedure under Parliament's Code of Conduct. When the commissioner decides an MP broke the rules but it was a minor or accidental mistake, the MP can fix the problem by updating their public record and acknowledging the error. The fact that Tice's entry already includes these correction details suggests part of the investigation has reached that stage, though the commissioner's August announcement says the investigation is still open.

The broader context here matters for understanding the pressures facing Reform UK's leadership. The party's deputy leader now faces an active parliamentary investigation, a complaint about an undeclared loan that was declined but publicly reported, and a separate criminal inquiry reported by a major broadcaster. Each of these processes works on its own, with different rules and different possible outcomes. A parliamentary investigation can lead to penalties from requiring an apology to suspension from Parliament. A criminal investigation, if it leads to charges and a conviction, carries consequences far beyond Parliament's internal rules.

The case also reflects a wider trend of closer scrutiny of MPs' financial interests, especially when personal money overlaps with political roles. The standards system has been strengthened in recent years, and the commissioner's decision to open an investigation, even after declining a related complaint, suggests each allegation is judged on its own merits rather than as part of a pattern.