Nigel Farage says he reached out to Rupert Lowe after Restore Britain leader's coalition offer

Nigel Farage has confirmed that he “reached out” to Rupert Lowe after the Restore Britain leader made the public offer of a deal with Reform UK.

Speaking at a press conference on Britain’s small boats crisis, the Reform leader said he was unsure of the “sincerity” of the olive branch but insisted he had responded to it “with an open mind”.

Mr Lowe, who set up Restore as a splinter party after leaving Reform, extended an offer to Mr Farage in a video posted to X following Labour’s victory in the Manchester mayoral by-election.

“The next step is how we maximise the chances of delivering the change Britain needs – it means putting personal differences aside. That is why today I am making a public offer to Nigel Farage and Reform UK,” the Restore leader said.

“If you want to do a political deal with somebody, you would contact them privately and not do a 12-minute video,” Mr Farage noted.

“That said, I did actually reach out back yesterday to him. I did say: ‘Look, we should have a call.'

’“I haven't heard back yet. So I don't know what the sincerity of this is.”

The Reform leader suggested Mr Lowe’s offer could be an example of gesture politics, intended to make him look unreasonable if he did not embrace the idea.

“That's not the case. If you look at my history in politics over the last few years, (you will see) I am prepared to make sacrifices if I believe it's in the national interest.

“I certainly did that in 2019, and I would do whatever I could for us to have a sane, centre-right alliance that beat Labour at the next general election,” he said.

However, Mr Farage stated that some of Mr Lowe’s conditions for an alliance were non-negotiable, including removing former Tories like Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman from Reform.

“I don't ditch my friends, I don't ditch my allies. I do not ditch people because somebody else wants me to… So that would not be a part of a negotiation in broader terms,” the Reform leader insisted.

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Mr Farage also suggested that Mr Lowe's offer may have been prompted by fear Restore would be unable to win seats outside of his own Great Yarmouth constutuency.

Nevertheless, the Reform leader suggested that splitting the vote in such a way could do “great harm” to efforts to avoid another Labour government.

“I think online you will see a lot of potential Restore voters now beginning to worry about the impact that might have.

“If it was the offer of a deal, it came in a very unusual way. I have responded to it with an open mind, as I would. But I'm not going to be ditching people I view as allies and a great asset.”

Following Mr Farage’s comments, Mr Lowe posted a lengthy reply to his X account in which he confirmed the pair had not yet spoken.

“The offer remains open to Nigel and Reform,” he wrote.

Earlier today, Reform’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf told GB News that “we're not closing any doors” on a potential deal

“All of these things are Nigel's decision,” he added.