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A prominent Reform UK parliamentarian has appeared to question whether his party can succeed under Nigel Farage’s leadership.
Rupert Lowe, the Reform MP for Great Yarmouth, has said it is “too early” to tell whether his party leader can “deliver the goods”.
In an apparent warning to Farage, Lowe added that Reform will only thrive if its leader “surrounds himself with the right people”.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the Norfolk MP reflected positively on his own prominence this parliament, noting that he is already “in the betting to be the next prime minister”.
“It’s absolutely staggering. I don’t know where this has come from”, he added.
Lowe’s commentary on X (formerly Twitter) regularly goes viral thanks to his over 300,000 followers. Tech tycoon Elon Musk, who owns X, has publicly supported Lowe thus amplifying his reach.
After the world’s richest man turned on Farage earlier this year, due to a disagreement over Musk’s backing for Tommy Robinson, the Tesla owner said Lowe’s viewpoints make “a lot of sense.”
Musk said: “I have not met Rupert Lowe but his statements online that I have read make a lot of sense.”
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The comment came as the SpaceX owner reportedly considered offering financial backing to Reform UK in the run-up to the next general election. The prospect of a large donation appeared to evaporate, however, after Musk said that Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead Reform.
Lowe soon rowed in behind his leader, posting to 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.”
He agreed with Farage that Robinson was “not right for Reform” and thanked Musk for his “kind comments”.
Asked by the Daily Mail whether Farage would make a good prime minister, Lowe has now said “It’s too early to know”.
He commented: “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.”
Reflecting on the challenges Reform faces, Lowe added: “We have to change from being a protest party led by the Messiah into being a properly structured party with a frontbench, which we don’t have. We have to start behaving as if we are leading and not merely protesting.
“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.
“So we have to start developing policy which is going to change the way we govern. 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. We can’t raise the hopes of people who are so frustrated with the way we are governed and then flunk it.”
Nigel Farage as Reform leader has repeatedly ruled out the prospect of a deal with the Conservative Party, in the form of an electoral pact or coalition.
But Lowe, speaking to the Mail, was more circumspect.
He said: “It’s too early to say what will happen. You can’t rule anything out.”
But, he added, before the possibility of a pact can be considered, the Conservatives must ditch certain MPs.
The Reform MP said: “There are too many who are more like the Lib Dems. They have to go. But for now we have to plough our own furrow. We will be the unifier of the sensible common sense Right.
“But if the Tories sort themselves out, get their house in order, and the polls continue to suggest there is going to be some form of deal necessary to get Labour out, I can’t tell you what will happen. But we have to continue with our own knitting and see where we are.”
Lowe’s comments in his Mail sit-down are not the first indication of his ambition. In a podcast interview with The Spectator Australia last month, the Reform MP said he is “definitely” willing to become prime minister.
Asked directly if he wanted to one day be PM, Lowe replied: “I mean, look, do I want be [prime minister]? My wife definitely doesn’t want me to be — I’m 67 years old. As I said, I should be trotting around enjoying myself, reading the Telegraph over a cup of coffee at 10 o’clock in the morning…
“Do I [want be prime minister]? It’s ludicrous that I’m in the betting now to be, I mean — how can a punter like me who’s come into parliament six months ago be — I think I’m fifth or sixth in the ranking in the betting to be the next prime minister. Bonkers, bonkers.
“Would I do it if I had to? Well, look, I love the country, and I if I had to do it, I think I would definitely do it. But I mean, we’ve got Nigel Farage, who’s our leader, and at the end of the day, we’re now leading the polls. He’s favourite to be prime minister.
“I’m still pretty long odds, but who knows. I mean, if circumstances demanded it, would I enjoy doing a bit of quango-bashing? You bet I would.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.
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