Infighting grips Reform UK party over lawmaker's suspension

Infighting has taken hold of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, following its decision to suspend a politician for alleged misconduct.

The right-wing British party, which has surged in opinion polls in recent months, announced last week that Rupert Lowe, who now sits as the independent MP for Great Yarmouth, was being investigated over allegations of bullying in his parliamentary offices.

Reform UK also said the police were looking into reports that Lowe had made “threats of physical violence” against the party’s chairman Zia Yusuf.

Lowe denies all the charges, claiming there is “zero credible evidence” against him and that the allegations constitute a “political assassination”. He has indicated that he could start legal proceedings against the party over its actions.

News of his suspension came shortly after the Daily Mail newspaper published an article in which Lowe said Reform UK under its leader Nigel Farage was a “protest party led by the messiah”.

Their public quarrel has only escalated since the politician’s suspension, with British political commentators suggesting the episode indicates a power struggle between Farage and Lowe over the future direction of Reform UK.

Writing in the Telegraph newspaper on Saturday, Farage said it would have been “inconceivable” for his party to have ignored the allegations against Lowe.

Farage also warned against internal disputes. “If the last general election taught us anything, it is that the public does not like political parties that engage in constant infighting,” he wrote, in reference to the previous Conservative government.

In response, Lowe said he had “enormous respect” for Farage, before adding that the party leader’s version of events was “an entirely false and poisonous narrative”.

Lowe has suggested that Farage is unhappy about his public support for mass deportations, of the kind that US President Donald Trump has promised.

In the latest YouGov polling, Reform UK is currently the second most popular party in Britain.

Last week’s survey suggests that it has 25% of the electorate’s support, 1 point behind the governing Labour Party and 4 points ahead of the Conservative Party.

Reform UK’s success has been a striking development in British politics, given the long dominance of the Labour and Conservative parties.

As a result of Lowe’s suspension, Farage’s party now only has four MPs in parliament.