Rupert Lowe says 'genuine attempt at offer was made' to Nigel Farage after Reform UK insiders admit pact with Restore Britain is OFF

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Aug 12, 2026 - 10:57

Rupert Lowe says 'genuine attempt at offer was made' to Nigel Farage after Reform UK insiders admit pact with Restore Britain is OFF

Rupert Lowe has said "a genuine attempt was made" by him to strike an electoral pact between his Restore Britain party and Nigel Farage's Reform UK.

The MP for Great Yarmouth has been trying to bring the two right-wing parties together to "Unite the Right".

While Mr Farage previously said he was "open-minded" about talks with Mr Lowe, senior Reform UK sources confirmed a deal was not currently viable after Mr Lowe refused to sack Restore Britain's co-founder, Charlie Downes.

Reform UK insiders told The i Paper Mr Lowe had "scuppered" talks by standing by Mr Downes and a deal is consequently "not going to happen".

Writing on social media, Mr Lowe, who was suspended from Reform UK in March last year, said today: "Reform UK has said that a pact with Restore Britain is off, that is their decision.

"I’m not getting into the personality differences of it all, I can’t be bothered.

"We made our offer, a genuine attempt was made. It was based on policy. I didn’t particularly enjoy doing it, but I tried because I thought it was the right thing to do.

"If Reform want to discuss policy, not personality, then they know where to find me. My aim is now on continuing to present a laser-focused plan to the British people."

Sources within Reform UK suggested Mr Farage was "appalled" by comments made by Mr Downes, who implied online the Reform UK leader had been “bought" by Jewish supporters and that Muslims are “less British” than Christians.

When asked about Mr Downes, Mr Lowe said "putting a young Christian man out of work, just as he is looking to build his life and start a family" is "simply not how I operate".

One insider claimed Mr Lowe had been forced into making a surprise offer of collaboration because he had realised Restore Britain had reached its electoral ceiling with the nine per cent it achieved in the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election.

They said: "(Restore will) never get more than a few percentage points, they’ll nibble away at Reform but they’re not going to replace Reform. I think that’s probably why he made the offer."

However, those within Restore Britain insist an arrangement can still be reached between the two parties, with one senior party source suggesting Reform UK's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf is among those supportive of an alliance.

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$\u200bReform UK home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusu$

A Restore Britain source said: "From what I understand, they’re having internal, factional fighting on it with Zia on one side and the (former) Tories on the other. And Farage is somewhere in the middle.

"There’s this factional warring going on. Let’s see what comes out of it."

Mr Yusuf was quick to throw cold water on the speculation, saying: "Pacts and coalitions won’t save Britain. Reform is the only party of the right with a chance of a majority."

However, he added: "I have huge respect for Restore voters, who are patriots that want secure borders and the mass deportation of illegal migrants. These will be my highest priority as home secretary. Reform will work hard to earn their votes so we have the majority we need to actually deliver it."

Meanwhile, Mr Farage yesterday said he will give Mr Yusuf a "ticking off" after he branded a Conservative former defence secretary a "traitor to Britain".

Mr Yusuf launched an attack on Sir Ben Wallace on Monday, branding him a "moron" before suggesting he should be prosecuted "for treason for importing thousands of unvetted Afghans to Britain".

Speaking to The Sun, Mr Farage admonished Mr Yusuf, saying calling Sir Ben, who served in the Scots Guard, a traitor was "too strong a word".

Asked if he would be encouraging Mr Yusuf to delete the social media posts in which he criticised Sir Ben, he added: “I’ll speak to him. I’ll speak to him today, but, yeah, it’s over the top."

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