Efforts to forge a political pact between the right-wing parties Reform UK and Restore Britain have faltered, marked by public exchanges between their leaders. The potential alliance was initiated after Restore's Rupert Lowe outlined his conditions for a deal in a social media video.
Lowe's proposals included demands for Reform UK to support the mass deportation of both illegal and legal migrants, hold a referendum on the death penalty, ban the burka, and exclude former Conservative ministers such as Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick from future government positions. He also mentioned past grievances, stating he was willing to put aside issues related to false allegations that led to his house being raided by armed police.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, confirmed he had reached out to Lowe for exploratory talks, stating his willingness to make sacrifices for a "sane centre-Right alliance" to counter the Labour party in the upcoming general election. However, Farage rejected Lowe's call to distance himself from politicians who have defected to Reform, including former Conservative MPs like Lee Anderson and Suella Braverman, asserting, "I don't ditch my friends." He also criticized Lowe's public presentation of his demands, suggesting a private conversation would have been more appropriate and implying Lowe was seeking public validation.
Restore Britain, however, accused Farage of dishonesty, posting a screenshot of a message from him that read "Will call later," and claiming no call had followed. A Restore UK spokesperson later dismissed the claim and screenshot as not warranting a response, with a source from Restore Britain expressing irritation and suggesting Farage was attempting to mislead the public.
Restore Britain was launched by Lowe in March after his expulsion from Reform UK. The party garnered some media attention in the Makerfield by-election but secured only 7% of the vote. A Restore source indicated that Lowe now recognizes the party's limited viability as a rival and is shifting tactics to influence Reform UK's policy platform for the next election.
A senior Reform UK source acknowledged that some of Lowe's policy demands might resonate with Reform's core supporters but suggested the matter should be handled offline. Meanwhile, the Conservative party commented that the public dispute highlighted Reform UK's lack of seriousness. Pollster Luke Tryl advised Reform UK to focus on attracting undecided voters rather than adopting Restore's policies, which he suggested could alienate potential supporters.