Independent thinking is not welcome by Reform UK

‘This is what happens when you mess with Nigel’: The bitter row tearing Reform apart

A vicious feud between MP Rupert Lowe and ‘messianic’ Farage erupts into public view, bringing the party’s honeymoon period to a decisive end

Only five months prior, Rupert Lowe had been among Nigel Farage’s most enthusiastic supporters, frequently posting on social media platform X throughout the autumn with messages such as “Nigel is right”, “Nigel is bang on”, and “Well said @Nigel_Farage, well said indeed.” Farage himself had expressed tremendous satisfaction when Lowe became one of five Reform MPs elected to Parliament, declaring that he would be a “terrific colleague” who would undoubtedly “put the people first”.

By Friday, however, an extraordinary deterioration in relations between the two prominent Reform figures was laid bare for all to witness, when the party issued an incendiary public statement detailing allegations of misconduct against its own parliamentarian. Lowe, responding swiftly, accused Farage’s team of publicising “false” and “malicious” allegations against him, attributing this to a “complete inability to accept even the most mild constructive criticism” directed at the Reform leader. He concluded a pointed 570-word statement with a warning that spoke directly to the heart of criticisms being levelled at Farage amidst a growing schism within Reform that dramatically escalated into a public civil war on Friday evening. “This is our party as much as it is Nigel’s,” Lowe asserted forcefully.

The spark that ignited the conflagration

The immediate catalyst that appeared to have precipitated Reform’s unprecedented attack on Lowe was an interview published on Thursday in which the MP openly questioned Farage’s suitability as a future Prime Minister. Lowe stated candidly that it was “too early to know whether Nigel will deliver the goods” and characterised Reform as a “protest party led by the Messiah”. He further cautioned that Farage “can only deliver if he surrounds himself with the right people,” adding weight to growing concerns about the party’s structure and leadership.

Those familiar with Farage’s leadership style immediately recognised that Lowe had crossed a significant boundary as far as their leader was concerned. “This is what happens when you mess with Nigel,” remarked one party source with evident resignation. “It was the same with Ukip, it was the same with the Brexit party. The theme continues. It’s ridiculous.”

Farage’s initial response to Lowe’s provocative interview materialised in the form of a television appearance on Thursday in which he labelled Lowe “utterly, completely wrong” and conspicuously declined to confirm whether his colleague would remain a Reform MP at the next general election. His notable hesitation might be explained by Reform’s statements released just 24 hours later, which made a series of damaging allegations against Lowe and confirmed that the party whip had been withdrawn from him with immediate effect.

A clash of personalities and visions

Party insiders reveal that Farage would have been “absolutely livid” over Lowe’s public criticism. Yet the tensions between these two significant figures come as little surprise to those familiar with Reform’s internal operations and dynamics.

The increasingly bitter dispute is said to have originated from Lowe’s profound frustration with what he perceives as the party’s inability to transform itself sufficiently to capitalise on widespread public disillusionment with mainstream political parties and a steady increase in support for Reform that has resulted from this disaffection. He is particularly troubled by the absence of a comprehensive policy programme and what he considers to be inadequate organisational structures throughout the party.

For months, Reform has claimed to be quietly restructuring its operation under the leadership of Zia Yusuf, a multimillionaire tech entrepreneur, implementing rigorous new vetting procedures for candidates, establishing a formal party board, and organising energetic regional rallies reminiscent of Trump-style campaign events in the United States. However, the party appears in no particular hurry to produce detailed policies when the next general election remains four years distant, leading to Lowe’s dramatic suggestion that he would resign if a “proper plan” for government was not forthcoming. Of the 30 staff currently employed at the party’s Westminster headquarters, only a single individual – Simon Marcus, who serves as head of policy – is dedicated specifically to policy development. Ultimately, major decisions continue to rest with Farage. “It’s all very much the Nigel show, not the Reform show”, observes one insider with evident frustration.

A relationship under strain

Until this explosive confrontation, Farage and Lowe are understood to have “got on very well personally”, according to party sources, as demonstrated by their mutual admiration frequently expressed on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), where Lowe maintains a prolific presence, regularly posting about his party and issues ranging from migration policy to fishing rights. Yet fundamentally, Lowe is widely regarded as an ideologue, whilst Farage is seen as a political tactician who has navigated the often treacherous waters of British politics for three decades. Farage’s decision-making process is largely predicated on political strategy, informed by what supporters describe as an innate sense of the public mood, whereas Lowe’s approach to decision-making typically centres on his strongly-held belief system and a sense of pragmatism derived from a successful business career managing enterprises ranging from a care home provider to Southampton Football Club.

The party leadership has never quite managed to exert much control over Lowe, a former Member of the European Parliament who has leveraged social media platform X to considerable effect, receiving an impressive 20 million views for his posts during this week alone. Such is the volume and unpredictability of his output on the platform that senior Reform officials have established automatic notifications each time he posts, enabling them to monitor his numerous public remarks.

The businessman has steadily emerged as one of the party’s most popular figures amongst the rank-and-file membership in recent months – a standing that was significantly enhanced after he received the public endorsement of Elon Musk in January, shortly after the X owner had controversially declared that Farage should be replaced as Reform’s leader. Musk’s unexpected intervention represented a devastating blow for Farage, who had reportedly been harbouring hopes for a substantial £100 million party donation from the billionaire entrepreneur. Unsurprisingly, it “went down like a s—storm” at party headquarters, according to one well-placed source. Those present with Farage recall that he was “apoplectic” upon receiving the news.

A pattern of internal conflicts

Farage’s public confrontation with Lowe is not the first such clash he has experienced with a Reform colleague. Last year, he became embroiled in a bitter dispute with Ben Habib, his former deputy, after replacing him with Richard Tice in a controversial leadership reshuffle. Habib resurfaced prominently in January to suggest that Farage had become “too big for his boots”, shortly after Farage had levelled precisely the same accusation against him. He claimed that, within the party structure, “It is king Nigel and everyone has to do what he says, when he says it.” In remarks unlikely to have ameliorated the increasingly strained relationship between Farage and Lowe, Habib added pointedly: “If there was a mechanism by which leadership could change then Rupert Lowe would be a fantastic leader.”

Although Lowe has faced criticism from some quarters for making his grievances public on Thursday, Reform insiders suggest that in the absence of any effective mechanism for raising concerns within the party’s internal structures, he found himself with few alternatives. Despite repeated efforts to democratise the party, there remain very few checks and balances on the leadership and minimal meaningful debate regarding Reform’s strategic direction. According to one disillusioned party source: “All you can do is appeal and say, ‘Please, Nigel. Please, Nigel’…[Farage] has just responded in his typical combative manner and exacerbated the problem.”

Public airing of grievances

Lowe appeared to air this internal discord publicly in his statement released on Friday evening, when he declared: “It is no surprise that this vexatious statement has been issued the day after my reasonable and constructive questions of Nigel and the Reform structure…

“All I stated was that communication needs to improve, delegation needs to improve, structure needs to improve – these are all reasonable requests of a party looking to form the next Government… I have been pushing for this behind the scenes for many months, with zero success. I have been frozen out of meetings, policy discussions, press conferences and more. My repeated requests for better communication and regular meetings have been ignored and mocked.”

The attack on Farage, explicit as it was, also contained barely concealed indications of the conflict that would inevitably follow if the party leadership proceeded with what Lowe characterised as an attempt to “kick me out over false claims”.

Serious allegations exchanged

Without providing any prior warning to Lowe, the party announced in its statement on Friday night that the MP had been accused of bullying two female members of staff and that a formal complaint had been submitted to parliamentary authorities. The statement further revealed that Lowe had been reported to the police concerning allegations that he had “on at least two occasions made threats of physical violence” against Yusuf – accusations vigorously denied by Lowe, who described them as fabrications designed to damage his reputation and standing within the party.

Farage’s position of strength

Farage’s confidence in confronting Lowe so publicly, in a dispute that undeniably marks the conclusion of Reform’s political honeymoon period, will owe much to what Lowe himself described as his leader’s messianic quality – as demonstrated during the former Ukip leader’s ultimately successful campaign for Britain to leave the European Union. A YouGov poll conducted in February found that an overwhelming 91 per cent of voters who supported Reform at last year’s general election held a favourable view of Farage, while merely seven per cent expressed an unfavourable opinion. Despite Farage having relinquished formal ownership of Reform, the party structure evidently remains configured very much to Farage’s advantage. The formal mechanism established to remove a Reform leader requires 50 per cent of party members to request a ballot in writing (or, at least 50 Reform MPs if the party’s parliamentary representation should ever exceed 100 members).

Farage is therefore likely to have concluded that no individual currently poses a genuine threat to his leadership position – notwithstanding Lowe’s significant and growing popularity among party members.

Lowe’s stark warning on Friday that “this is our party as much as Nigel’s” suggests, however, that he fundamentally disagrees with this assessment of the power dynamics within Reform. The stage appears set for a protracted and potentially destructive power struggle that could significantly impact the party’s electoral prospects.

The broader implications

This deeply personal feud raises profound questions about Reform’s future trajectory. Can a party that positions itself as an anti-establishment force successfully navigate the transition towards becoming a serious contender for governmental power? The structural challenges highlighted by Lowe – including inadequate policy development, opaque decision-making processes, and excessive centralisation of authority – represent genuine obstacles to Reform’s ambitions.

Moreover, the dispute underscores the perennial difficulty faced by political movements built around charismatic individuals. Farage’s undeniable popularity among Reform voters provides him with substantial political capital, yet his apparent reluctance to establish robust institutional frameworks or to tolerate dissenting voices echoes patterns observed in his previous political ventures. As one former Ukip official remarked privately, “Nigel creates parties in his own image, but struggles with the collaborative compromises necessary for sustainable growth.”

For Reform members and supporters, the spectacle of their representatives engaging in such public recriminations represents a disheartening departure from the party’s stated commitment to offering a coherent alternative to traditional politics. Whether this represents a temporary squall or the beginning of a more fundamental fracturing remains to be seen, but the damage to Reform’s carefully cultivated image as a unified force for political change is undeniable.

As British voters observe this increasingly acrimonious dispute, many will question whether Reform genuinely offers the stable and principled leadership it claims, or whether it is ultimately destined to replicate the internal divisions that have periodically undermined other challenger parties in British political history. The resolution of this conflict between Farage and Lowe may well determine Reform’s long-term viability as a significant force in UK politics.

Comment

Reform has lost or removed a very large number of candidates who campaigned really hard for the party during the election, mostly at their own expense, the key policy was that all candidates supported Reform UK policies, but they were free to have their own opinion, however since the election.

Many of these candidates have been removed for trivial reasons, or they have been pressured to stand down, and in the meantime, the party is pandering to Conservatives who are jumping ship simply to keep their seats, and we must ask ourselves if we really want these people.

Rupert remains the only Reform UK MP who continues to ask the questions about issues that concern the public, and in the meantime, since entering parliament, Nigel Farage has taken a softer and softer position, making all but the most dedicated Farage fans question his loyalty.

If Reform is to survive, it needs to democratise and despite the claims made recently by Farage, that has not happened, there is a serious storm on the horizon and if it is not addresses, the consequences for Reform UK will be catastrophic and that will be a disaster for our nation.