Nigel Farage is facing a fresh headache within his own party after Reform MP Rupert Lowe publicly challenged his leadership, sparking calls for him to be disciplined. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has suggested Farage should consider removing the Reform whip from Lowe after what he described as an act of “defiance”.
Speaking on GB News, Philp reacted to Lowe’s warning that Reform UK needs to start “behaving as if we are leading and not merely protesting”. The Great Yarmouth MP also took a swipe at Farage, calling him a “messiah” and urging him to transform the party into a “properly structured” political force with a clear front bench.
Philp argued that such open dissent would normally lead to swift consequences in other parties. “We’ve seen leaders in the past suspend the whip for saying that kind of thing,” he said. “Nigel Farage, I imagine, will take a very dim view of it, won’t he? This is open defiance of his leadership by Rupert Lowe. So we will see what Nigel Farage is made of.”
He went further, using Lowe’s comments to undermine Reform UK as a serious political force. “They’re clearly riven by divisions, and Rupert Lowe has admitted that Reform is nothing more than a protest party that doesn’t have the plans needed to fix our country’s very serious problems, including on immigration.”
When asked if the Conservatives would consider merging with Reform, given the party’s growing support in the polls, Philp dismissed the idea. “That’s not our plan. It’s not our intention. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I don’t think it needs to happen either.”
He doubled down on his attack, insisting that “as the public think about it some more, they’re going to reach the same conclusion that Rupert Lowe has—that Reform is divided and it doesn’t have a plan. It’s just a protest party.”
Farage, however, shrugged off the criticism, telling The Telegraph that Reform simply doesn’t have enough MPs to build the kind of front bench Lowe is calling for. “It’s difficult to have a front bench with only five MPs, isn’t it? And he’s one of them.”
Asked about his leadership style and whether he delegates effectively, Farage hit back: “Delegate? I’ve delegated everything. If we had 30 MPs, we’d have a front bench, but with five, we can’t.”
Lowe’s comments mark the first major instance of a Reform MP breaking ranks since the party secured five seats in July’s General Election. However, he’s not entirely without support—tech billionaire Elon Musk has previously backed him as a possible successor to Farage, fuelling speculation of further internal rifts.
Musk waded into UK politics earlier this year, claiming that Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” after the Reform leader distanced himself from controversial figure Tommy Robinson. With Reform’s rapid rise in popularity and cracks already showing, all eyes will be on whether Farage moves to stamp out dissent—or if Rupert Lowe is just the first of many to question his grip on the party.
