The conflict within Reform UK intensified as Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe exchanged sharp criticisms, with the party denying that Lowe’s suspension was politically motivated, according to The Guardian.
The public feud comes less than two months before crucial local elections, threatening to overshadow the party’s campaign efforts.
Rupert Lowe, a Reform UK MP, was suspended from the party on Friday following a series of allegations. Reform UK issued a statement accusing Lowe of bullying two female employees, with complaints filed with parliamentary authorities, and verbally threatening the party’s chair, Zia Yusuf, with violence. The party appointed an independent King’s Counsel to investigate the bullying claims, which Lowe had vehemently denied.
Lowe described the allegations as a “witch-hunt” and claimed they were a response to his criticism of Farage’s leadership. In an interview with the Daily Mail published on Thursday, Lowe criticised Reform UK as a “protest party led by the Messiah” and questioned whether Farage could deliver on his promises.
Nigel Farage, Reform UK’s leader, fired back in a Sunday Telegraph article, accusing Lowe of “unloading a barrage of criticisms” against the party and its leadership. Farage suggested that Lowe’s suspension was justified due to his “outbursts” and inability to work collaboratively with colleagues.
Lowe further claimed that his suspension was linked to his support for mass deportations of illegal immigrants, a stance he said had drawn warnings from Reform UK leadership.
If you are here illegally, you should be deported. That has to be the objective. If that results in one million plus deportations being the eventual aim? Then so be it.
The public feud has drawn criticism from outside the party, with Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp describing Reform UK as a “protest party with no seriously thought-out policies.” Philp accused Reform of smearing Lowe in response to his criticisms, further highlighting the internal divisions within the party.
