UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Ann Widdecombe, Reform UK’s spokesperson, dismissed claims of a “civil war” within the party after MP Rupert Lowe’s criticism of Nigel Farage’s leadership.
Reform UK spokesperson rejected allegations of a civil war within the party following MP Rupert Lowe’s remarks regarding Nigel Farage’s leadership.
What did Ann Widdecombe say about “civil war” within Reform UK?
During an appearance in an interview, Ms. Widdecombe denied the claims of internal conflict within Reform UK, stating that the party is focused on preparing for government.
She stated,
“First of all, there’s no civil war, there really isn’t. You heard Nigel say that he hoped that Rupert would be on the Reform benches after the next election. There’s no civil war.”
The party’s representative told GB News host Patrick Christys,
“What there is, is a party emerging from being what I think Rupert does describe as a party on a mission, a party that was protesting about the things that were going on, to a party that’s now actually preparing for Government.”
What did Ann Widdecombe say about Reform UK’s growth?
Referring to the Reform UK memberships, she highlighted the significant growth of the party, pointing out that the party has surpassed 200,000 members, stressing that Labour is “marching forward” in preparation for the upcoming election.
She continued,
“We’ve set up over 400 branches now, with memberships going up every day, as everybody knows, and we’ve opened all that up to tracking and we are marching forward.”
What did Rupert Lowe say about Nigel Farage?
Rupert Lowe, a Reform UK MP, has called out party leader Nigel Farage for acting like a ‘messiah’ and urging him to improve his delegation skills. He warned that without major changes to the party’s governance, he would not be backing Nigel Farage in the next general election.
During an interview with Daily Mail, he said,
“We have to change from being a protest party led by the Messiah into being a properly structured party with a front bench, which we don’t have. We have to start behaving as if we are leading and not merely protesting.”
He criticised Mr Farage, stating,
“Nigel is a messianic figure who is at the core of everything but he has to learn to delegate, as not everything can go through one person.”
How did Nigel Farage respond to Rupert Lowe comments?
Nigel Farage responded to Mr Lowe’s comments on Thursday afternoon by saying,
“We are not a protest party in any way at all. That is utterly, completely wrong. We are an entirely positive party. Come to any Reform event and the positivity, the energy – perhaps he should come to one or two.”
The Reform leader stated that if he didn’t have a good following, Reform UK wouldn’t have won any seats in Parliament on July 4th of last year. He added that there would have been “a cat’s chance in hell” of him winning his Great Yarmouth seat.
Mr Farage stated,
“He’s on the front bench, so what’s he talking about?,”
Adding,
“With only five people you can’t really have a shadow cabinet can you? We’ve got a lot of development to do but we’re absolutely not a protest party.”
When asked about his deelgatory skills, he replied,
“Delegate? I’ve delegated everything.”
He added,
“If we had 30 MPs, we’d have a front bench, but with five, we can’t.”
In response to Rupert Lowe’s public backlash, Mr. Farage remarked,
“Perhaps he wants to be Prime Minister – most people in politics do… His comments are wrong; we are making gigantic strides.”
What did Richard Tice say about Rupert Lowe’s comments?
Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice responded to Rupert Lowe’s remarks, stating,
“There’s no harm in a bit of challenge.”
In response to whether Rupert Lowe should be an MP, he defended him, saying,
“Rupert is doing a good job. He’s working hard. We’re all working hard.”
Mr. Tice further highlighted Lowe’s background, stating,
“He’s a businessman, we’re all from the world of business, we get things done.”