Nigel Farage today doubled down on his pledge not to strike a deal with Restore unless Rupert Lowe rids his party of racist extremists. The pair have been locked in a very public back-and-forth over the conditions necessary for them to work together to block the left at the next election.
Lowe, who initiated the negotiations, has demanded support for the deportation of millions of migrants and insisted that former Conservatives should be denied cabinet positions in any future government. Farage has, of course, rebuffed the latter demand. But at a press conference today, he also made clear that there would be no agreement with Restore while it continued to tolerate a cast of extremist characters.
Speaking at the Royal Horseguards Hotel in Westminster, the Reform leader did not mince his words. He told reporters: ‘There are one or two people in the orbit of the upper echelons of that party who, if I sat down and talked to, I think our members and our voters would be utterly shocked that I’d done it. Don’t forget I have fought the far right for over a quarter of a century. I took on the BNP for years. It was a tough thing to do. But I won.’
Farage added: ‘I’ve always made sure that political parties that I’ve run have absolutely been non-sectarian, non-racially prejudiced, and I’ve insisted on that for year after year after year. And I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise that.’
For those unfamiliar with the individuals in question, they include Restore co-founder Charlie Downes, who suggested that Farage had been ‘bought’ by Jewish supporters – a classic anti-Semitic trope. Lowe has also refused to distance himself from Steve Laws, who wants to deport every ‘non white’ person from the UK, regardless of their character or how far back their citizenship and ties to the country stretch. These are categorically racist views that have left Restore struggling to break through a support ceiling of around 7 per cent in national polls.
Farage perceptively noted today that many of Lowe’s supporters are probably unaware of the extremists lurking within his orbit. They see 30-second video clips of a well-spoken farmer promising to restore the pride and patriotism so spitefully shunned by the left at the height of the woke fever that followed George Floyd’s death. What they do not see are the far-right elements making inroads into the party.
These are bad-faith actors of the kind Farage has always drawn a line against. The Reform leader believes that, if the public were shown more of what lies behind the curtain, they would not approve.
Lowe has clearly realised that he cannot win power in this country through his own outfit alone
Lowe must now make a decision. He has clearly realised that he cannot win power in this country through his own outfit alone. Does he want to remain the leader of a party born at least in part out of a grudge – one willing to embrace extremists and appeal to the niche section of the electorate that has always existed and always will? Or does he want to get serious about forming an alliance with Reform to prevent Labour, or some form of left-wing coalition, from securing more time in No. 10?
The ball is in his court and for now it looks like Lowe is willing to continue as a fringe party of protest rather than a more serious political force. Just this morning the Restore leader, if it was even him rather than a more radical staffer, published on X: ‘Farage and Reform have also said that Restore Britain must outright sack Charlie Downes – putting a young Christian man out of work, just as he is looking to build his life and start a family. That is simply not how I operate.’
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