Senior members of Reform UK are embroiled in a bitter row – with one of its MPs being suspended from the party.
Rupert Lowe, the Reform MP for Great Yarmouth, lost the party whip over the weekend, meaning he will now sit as an independent MP in the Commons.
It is a setback for party leader Nigel Farage, who has been on a mission to “professionalise” Reform as it seeks to capitalise on its position in the polls – which only a month ago gave the party a lead over Labour and the Conservatives for the first time.
But how did the row start, and what now for Mr Lowe?
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Alleged threats of physical violence
Mr Lowe, the former chairman of Southampton Football Club, was suspended last week after Reform reported him to the police over alleged threats of physical violence towards the party’s chairman, Zia Yusuf.
A statement from Mr Yusuf and Lee Anderson, the chief whip, also said the party had received complaints from two female employees about alleged serious bullying in Mr Lowe’s offices.
Mr Lowe, who served as a member of the European Parliament for the Brexit Party, has strongly denied the allegations, calling the accusations of physical threats “outrageous and entirely untrue”. He also referenced a “vexatious complaint” made by another staff member.
Mr Yusuf and Mr Anderson claimed the Great Yarmouth MP had “on at least two occasions made threats of physical violence against” the former.
“It is with regret that we feel obligated to disclose that the party received complaints from two female employees about serious bullying in the offices of the member of parliament for Great Yarmouth, Rupert Lowe,” they said in a joint statement.
“Evidence was provided to us of workplace bullying, the targeting of female staff who raised concerns, and evidence of derogatory and discriminatory remarks made about women, including reference to a perceived disability.
“We feel we have a duty of care to all our staff, whether employed directly or indirectly. Accordingly, we appointed an independent King’s Counsel to conduct an investigation into the veracity of these complaints. To date, Mr Lowe has yet to cooperate with this investigation.
“In addition to these allegations of a disturbing pattern of behaviour, Mr Lowe has on at least two occasions made threats of physical violence against our party chairman. Accordingly, this matter is with the police.
“Reform stands for the highest standards of conduct in public life, and we will apply these standards without fear nor favour, including within our own party.”
What has Mr Lowe said?
In response to the allegations, Mr Lowe said on Friday the party leadership had a “complete inability to accept even the most mild constructive criticism without such a malicious reaction”.
In a statement posted on X, he wrote: “I am disappointed, but not surprised, to read Reform’s untrue and false allegations. Let me be abundantly clear – this investigation is based on zero credible evidence against me, as has been repeatedly stated by the neutral investigator. None has been provided.
“I have cooperated and spoken at length with the KC they instructed, at great cost to the party, to investigate a minor staff matter.”
In a further statement on X, Mr Lowe said: “Ever since this malicious attack on my reputation was launched, all I have asked for from both Reform and the KC is the credible evidence against me.”
He said that “none has been provided” because “there is no credible evidence against me”.
He added: “I will not have my name dragged through the mud as part of a political assassination because I dared to question Nigel Farage.”
War of words
Mr Lowe’s statement suggests he believes he has been suspended from the party because he chose to criticise Mr Farage.
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In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Mr Lowe said that while Mr Farage was a “fiercely independent individual” with “messianic qualities”, that did not equate to “sage leadership”.
He added: “I’m not going to be by Nigel’s side at the next election unless we have a proper plan to change the way we govern from top to bottom,” he said.
He also said he was “barely six months into being an MP” and “in the betting to be the next prime minister.”
Those words could have struck a nerve with Mr Farage after Elon Musk, the Tesla and Space X billionaire who has become one of Donald Trump’s closest allies, suggested the Reform leader “doesn’t have what it takes” and that Mr Lowe should take over.
Elon Musk suggested in January that Nigel Farage should be replaced as Reform UK leader.
Pic Reuters
Mr Farage has brushed off the incident and in an article for the Daily Telegraph on Saturday claimed Mr Lowe’s suspension was a result of “inappropriate” behaviour.
‘Sense of unity has been dented’
“If the last general election taught us anything, it is that the public does not like political parties that engage in constant infighting,” Mr Farage wrote.
“Now, thanks to one of our MPs, Rupert Lowe, unloading a barrage of criticisms against our operations and its main actors, that sense of unity has been dented.”
Mr Farage went on to claim that Mr Lowe had “managed to fall out with all his parliamentary colleagues in one way or another”, adding: “We did our best to keep a lid on things but, in the end, containment strategies invariably fail.”
He then referred to a Commons clash with transport minister Mike Kane just before Christmas after Mr Lowe staged a debate about a damaged ship containing toxic cargo docked in his Great Yarmouth constituency.
“Mr Lowe was unhappy with the answer that he received from Mr Kane and, at the end of the debate, he crossed the floor to make his feelings known,” Mr Farage wrote.
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“A confrontation ensued. Heated language was heard. The minister’s shoulder was pushed. In the end, the Serjeant at Arms had to step in to calm things down between the two parliamentarians.”
He added: “Yet the fact is that, sadly, there have been too many similar outbursts from Mr Lowe, often involving the use of inappropriate language, to the despair of our chief whip, Lee Anderson.
“I have been surprised and saddened at this behaviour.”
On bullying allegations, Mr Farage said Reform was a “responsible political party” that had a “duty of care to every single member of staff, whether they are employed by us directly or indirectly”.
As a result, he said a lawyer had been appointed to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations.
Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice said it was “right and proper” that the KC had been appointed to conduct an investigation.
Speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, he said: “We’ve also got a duty of care as a party, whether people are employed directly or indirectly. So, that’s why the chairman has instructed an independent investigation by a KC, that’s the right and proper thing to do. That will run its course.”
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Lowe suspension was the ‘right judgement’
‘Correcting’ the record
In his own Telegraph article, Mr Lowe repeated the claim he made on X that there was no credible evidence against him and he was removed from the party before any investigation had started.
He called his treatment by the party a “witch hunt” and said he had been “entirely frozen out of the Reform machine over the last few months, in a deliberate and calculated way”.
However, the lawyer appointed to investigate the claims against Mr Lowe – who has remained anonymous – told the BBC that they had denied saying they were “shocked” about the party’s process.
The lawyer reportedly told the BBC: “I have seen a number of statements made by Mr Lowe MP which are attributed to me and which describe my reactions to the process conducted by the party into the allegations made against both Mr Lowe and his constituency manager.”
“I find myself in the unfortunate and regrettable position of having to make this statement to correct the record. I have not expressed either ‘dismay’ or ‘shock’ at any time as to the process.
“Nor have I said ‘there is zero credible evidence against [Mr Lowe]’, let alone said this ‘repeatedly’.”
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