REFORM have descended into a chaotic civil war after the party reported one of its own MPs to the police over bullying allegations.
Backbencher Rupert Lowe has been stripped of the party whip amid an internal investigation of bullying complaints made against him by two female members of staff.
He was reported to police after allegedly making threats of violence against party chair Zia Yusuf, who Lowe has called on to step down.
Leader Nigel Farage has also accused the MP of pushing a minister in Parliament, resulting in the Serjeant at Arms having to “step in to calm things down”.
Lowe has said the claims against him are a “witch hunt” as a result of policy differences between him and Farage.
The Great Yarmouth MP has also criticised Farage’s running of the party, saying he has acted like “messiah”.
In an interview with the Daily Mail last Tuesday, Lowe (above) said the Reform leader should delegate better and deliver on promises to professionalise the party and make it more democratic.
Lowe has long been perceived to be at odds with Farage after getting the backing of Elon Musk after the party leader refused to back Tommy Robinson.
But insiders believe that the two are also at odds on policy, with Lowe perceived as being further to the right than Farage. A source told The Telegraph: “Rupert has been captured by the online radical Right. But this is not about Nigel Farage versus Rupert Lowe – all the MPs have got their own views and are concerned.”
Writing in the paper, Farage said that Lowe had “dented” the party’s “sense of unity” ahead of the crucial local elections in England at the start of May.
Farage said: “The truth is that Mr Lowe has made some excellent interventions over the past eight months and helped to stimulate public debate on a range of pressing issues facing the country.
“What many people may not have realised, however, is that in that time he has also managed to fall out with all his parliamentary colleagues in one way or another. We did our best to keep a lid on things but, in the end, containment strategies invariably fail.”
Arguing that he could not have attempted to cover up the allegations against Lowe and that they were now a matter for the parliamentary authorities, Farage (below) added: “We must also wait to hear what the KC who has been tasked with looking into these matters has to say.
“Until we know more, I must return to the crucial job of getting 1500 vetted Reform UK candidates out into the field for the local and mayoral elections on May 1. It is essential that they stand for public office with a united team foursquare behind them.”
But Lowe has also accused Farage of stirring up internal discontent, writing in The Telegraph: “This spectre of infighting will leave the party looking unserious and turn voters off.
“Infighting failed the Tories – and it’s failing Reform.”
Polling suggests the internecine warfare is putting off voters, with the party’s meteoric rise in the polls appearing to have come to a halt.
A survey for The Independent by pollsters Techne UK on Thursday – after Lowe’s public criticisms of Farage but before it was revealed he had been reported to the police – showed that Reform’s support had stalled at 25% with Labour in the lead at 28%.
However, their support in Scotland continues to rise, with a separate poll for The Scottish Sun predicting the party would knock the Tories out of third place with 17% of the constituency vote and 18% on the regional list.
