Four things to consider before forming an opinion on Rupert Lowe Reform uproar ...Middle East

Rupert Lowe has been suspended from Reform UK and reported to the police over claims of bullying and “threats of physical violence”.

The Great Yarmouth MP has denied the allegations saying they are “untrue and false” but it has revealed a crack in the party at a time when it is riding high in the polls.

The suspension comes just days after Lowe questioned Nigel Farage’s leadership of the party earlier in the week. The businessman and former chairman of Southampton Football Club has previously been touted as a potential contender to replace Farage.

Now fellow Reform UK MP Lee Anderson has called for Lowe to go.

He wrote on X: “Politics is a team game and we must work as a team.

“I have a great deal of respect for Rupert Lowe and as his Chief Whip I have bent over backwards to be fair with him since he entered Parliament.

“His unwillingness to co-operate in an investigation into his behaviour has meant the Parliamentary party cannot function effectively whilst Rupert is a Reform UK MP.”

Lowe responded saying: “I thought you were a friend. Evidently, I was wrong.”

Farage has yet to comment on the matter since Lowe was suspended.

Lowe was suspended from the party on Friday 7 March and referred to the police, after allegations he made “threats of physical violence” against the party’s chairman Zia Yusuf.

A statement from the party said it had also received “complaints from two female employees about serious bullying in the offices of the Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth, Rupert Lowe”.

It added that one worked in his parliamentary office and one in his constituency office and complaints had been made to parliamentary authorities.

It said evidence had been provided of “workplace bullying” and “derogatory and discriminatory remarks”.

In addition, the party claimed: “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 UK MPs Lee Anderson, Nigel Farage, Rupert Lowe, Richard Tice, and James McMurdock, arrive at the House of Commons after the general election in July (Photo: Maja Smiejkowska/PA)

The statement was signed by Anderson, the party’s chief whip, and the chairman.

Lowe has denied the allegations, saying they were “untrue and false” and there was “zero credible evidence” against him.

He added that it was “no surprise that this vexatious statement has been issued the day after my reasonable and constructive questions of Nigel and the Reform structure”.

Lowe has since asked Nigel Farage to “have dinner” with him, to resolve issues.

In a message posted on X on Saturday, he said: “I can only smash my head against a brick wall for so long.”

He asked the party leader to “resolve this in a manner that our members and the country would expect”.

“I am going to now repeat publicly an invitation that I have extended to Nigel Farage in private multiple times over many months,” he said. “Every offer has been refused or ignored.”

Elon Musk’s praise for Lowe

The Reform UK MP found himself at the centre of a party leadership debate earlier this year after tech billionaire Elon Musk backed him to replace Farage.

The Tesla and X boss hit out at Farage in January saying he “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead the party, after an earlier disagreement between the pair over jailed far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson.

Musk had characterised Robinson as a political prisoner and called for him to be freed.

But Farage had distanced himself from support for Robinson saying: “My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles.”

Then in a statement posted on X on 5 January this year, Musk wrote: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”

When asked in a post if the Great Yarmouth MP and former Southampton FC chairman should take over the top job, Musk appeared to endorse him.

He wrote: “I have not met Rupert Lowe, but his statements online that I have read so far make a lot of sense.”

Responding to this turn of events, Lowe posted on X: “Nigel is leader of Reform.

“He made Brexit happen, and for that I will always be grateful.

“I look forward to working with Nigel and the entire team to continue to hold this incompetent Labour party to account, democratise our own party, win the next election and form a Reform government.”

However, Musk has continued to show support for Lowe appearing to agree with comments he has made on social media.

Lowe called for immediate deportation of “fake asylum seekers” on X ton 2 March.

Musk replied to the comment posting: “Yes”.

In a candid interview with the Daily Mail on Thursday, Lowe appeared to throw doubt on Farage’s leadership of Reform UK.

When asked about being a favourite to be the next prime minister among bookmakers, he said: “I’m barely six months into being an MP and I’m in the betting to be the next Prime Minister.

“It’s absolutely staggering. I don’t know where this has come from.”

Lowe appeared to questions Farage’s ability to be a good prime minister in an interview with the daily Mail (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty)

But he went on to question whether Farage would be a good prime minister.

He added: “It’s too early to know whether Nigel will deliver the goods.

“He can only deliver if he surrounds himself with the right people.

“Nigel is a fiercely independent individual and is extremely good at what we have done so far.

“He has got messianic qualities.

“Will those messianic qualities distil into sage leadership? I don’t know.”

He called for the party to “change from being a protest party led by the Messiah” to a structured one with a frontbench.

“We have to start behaving as if we are leading and not merely protesting”, he said, “Nigel is a messianic figure who is at the core of everything but he has to learn to delegate, as not everything can go through one person.”

Reform UK’s surging popularity

Despite the recent uproar, recent polls have revealed Reform UK has seen a surge in popularity, vying with Labour and overtaking the conservatives.

A YouGov poll from 4 March for voting intention showed Labour had a slim lead with 26 per cent of the vote and Reform UK a close second on 25 per cent.

The Tories had 21 per cent, the Lib Dems had 14 per cent and support for the Greens stood at 9 per cent.

Last month, opinion polls suggested support for Reform UK had edged ahead of that for Labour.

A BMG Research poll for The i Paper had Reform on 27 per cent, ahead of Labour on 26 per cent, although the lead was within the survey’s margin for error.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives trailed on 22 per cent, the party’s lowest score since the general election in July 2024.

Farage’s reputation as a leader also appeared to be improving, with the proportion of voters satisfied (32 per cent) with his performance almost equal to those dissatisfied (33 per cent) for the first time.

And his overall leader satisfaction rating of -1 was far above the Prime Minister on -30.

Rupert Lowe’s statement in full

“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.

“I have just spoken to the KC. She is dismayed that this statement has been made, and reiterated that no evidence against me has been sent to her. She stated that this has been issued before the investigation has even started.

“She is shocked at the process, shocked at the communication from the party, and shocked that no credible evidence has been given, despite her repeated requests.

 “I was sent an initial letter late on Friday afternoon last week, again with no evidence provided, with no prior warning and no attempt to understand the full position.

“Allegations of physical threats are outrageous and entirely untrue. 

I have never made any derogatory comments about women, or those with disabilities. This is a lie. These allegations are not even referring to me. I will be seeking legal advice immediately.

“There is no credible evidence against me, as the KC has stated on numerous occasions.

“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. It was issued on X late on a Friday afternoon, with no prior warning.

“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 stand by everything I said.

“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.

“Honestly, I have tried and tried – and will continue to try. I did not speak publicly without exhausting all other options, repeatedly. I have done everything in my power to resolve this behind closed doors. Sadly, I failed.

“Our voters, our members and our country all deserve so much better than this.

“To Reform supporters of mine, please stay with the party. We must win the next election. There is no other choice. Infighting serves nobody but our enemies. This could have all been resolved with even the most basic level of communication.

“I do not believe that Reform members will be pleased to know that their membership fees are being spent on instructing expensive lawyers to investigate their own MPs, over matters that are entirely baseless and have been dealt with in the correct Parliamentary procedure, with HR’s full involvement and support.

“The staff member in question only raised a vexatious complaint once disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against them for serious wrongdoing. The other individual mentioned, dropped her appeal.

“If they want to kick me out over false claims, they’ll have to finally present some credible evidence against me. There is none, as the KC has just told me. Again.

“A complete inability to accept even the most mild constructive criticism without such a malicious reaction is not effective leadership.

“This is our party as much as it is Nigel’s.”

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