Rupert Lowe has made a public offer to Nigel Farage and Reform UK to explore working with Restore Britain, saying personal differences should be put aside to prevent the political right from remaining divided.
The Restore Britain leader and Great Yarmouth MP issued the appeal following the Greater Manchester mayoral election, where the party's candidate, Marlon West, secured 46,289 first-preference votes and finished fourth—above the Conservatives.
“If you are prepared to work together around serious policies, serious reform and serious government, then so are we.”
However, Lowe's offer is not an announcement of a merger, electoral pact or completed agreement. He proposed cooperation “in some form” but attached five substantial policy conditions which would first need to be accepted.
An attempt to move beyond a bitter split
Lowe addressed Farage directly and recalled entering Parliament alongside the other four Reform UK MPs elected at the 2024 general election.
He acknowledged that their disagreements over the following 18 months were well documented and said he continued to oppose the way in which he had been removed from Reform. Nevertheless, he argued that repeatedly revisiting that dispute would achieve little.
Lowe had the Reform whip withdrawn in March 2025 after the party reported allegations concerning his conduct. He denied wrongdoing and maintained that his removal was connected to his criticism of Farage and Reform's internal organisation. The Crown Prosecution Service subsequently decided there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges over an allegation that Lowe had made threats.
Restore Britain later developed into a separate political party under Lowe's leadership, presenting itself as a more uncompromising alternative on immigration, cultural and constitutional questions.
What has Lowe offered?
Lowe did not specify the organisational form that cooperation should take. His video referred to the possibility of the two “movements” working collectively and pointed to local cooperation on Norfolk County Council as evidence that some form of arrangement was possible.
That wording leaves several possibilities open, including cooperation on particular policies, local government agreements or an electoral understanding. Nothing in the announcement confirms that formal negotiations have begun.
At the time of publication, no public response from Farage or Reform UK accepting or rejecting the proposal had been identified.
The five conditions attached to the offer
Lowe organised his proposed basis for cooperation around five areas which he described as principles of national restoration.
1. Immigration and deportations
Lowe demanded full implementation of Restore Britain's deportation policy, including the removal of all people living in the country illegally. He said this would include women and children.
He also advocated removing some legally resident foreign nationals according to criteria including English-language ability, employment, use of social housing and hostility towards Britain. Such proposals would face substantial legal, human-rights, administrative and practical scrutiny.
2. Demographic, cultural and religious policies
Lowe said any cooperation must include Restore Britain's programme intended to reverse what it calls the “Islamification” of Britain.
His stated conditions included prohibitions relating to halal and kosher slaughter, the burqa, cousin marriage, sharia councils and large public Islamic prayers. He also called for the recommendations of Restore Britain's inquiry into child sexual exploitation to be adopted in full.
These proposals would be highly contentious and would raise significant questions concerning religious freedom, equalities law and their practical application. Lowe presented them as a firm red line rather than a starting point for compromise.
3. A referendum on the death penalty
Lowe called for a national referendum on restoring capital punishment for what he described as the most serious and indisputable cases.
He said he would vote for its restoration but framed the proposed referendum as a way of resolving a question on which he and Farage have differed.
4. A more self-sufficient Britain
The fourth condition covered public spending, welfare, energy, food production and defence. Lowe argued that Britain should live within its means and become better able to power, feed and defend itself.
He acknowledged that this programme would require large spending reductions and potentially unpopular decisions extending beyond a single electoral cycle.
5. Excluding former Conservative ministers
Lowe's final condition concerned trust in politics. He said former Conservative ministers should not be given positions in a future government assembled by the political right, arguing that those involved in previous administrations should not receive another opportunity.
This demand could prove especially difficult for Reform UK, which has recruited a number of former Conservatives and has sought to broaden its claim to be a government-in-waiting.
What did Greater Manchester show?
Restore Britain described the Greater Manchester result as evidence of what the new party could deliver. West received 46,289 first preferences, or 8.68%, placing fourth and narrowly beating the Conservative candidate.
Reform UK's Sian Astley received 111,928 first preferences, or 20.99%, before losing the final round to Labour's Bev Craig.
Adding the Restore and Reform first-preference totals produces 158,217 votes, or about 29.7%. That remains well below Craig's 251,449 first preferences. Voters cannot simply be treated as transferable between parties, so the calculation illustrates the size of the two parties' combined support rather than predicting the result of a formal alliance.
The result nevertheless demonstrated that Restore could attract a material share of the right-leaning vote. It also highlighted the strategic question facing both parties: whether competing separately expands their combined audience or divides voters who might otherwise support a single challenger.
Could an agreement actually happen?
Lowe's intervention represents a notable change of tone after a prolonged and personal dispute. It places the immediate decision with Farage while allowing Restore Britain to say it attempted to prevent continued division.
Yet the conditions also demonstrate how far apart the parties remain. Lowe explicitly said Reform had moved away from what he considered necessary and presented several demands as non-negotiable.
Until Reform responds and the proposed form of cooperation is defined, the announcement is best understood as a conditional public offer—not a reconciliation, merger or electoral pact.
View this post on X