Ousted Reform MP Rupert Lowe could join breakaway rightwing party
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Ben Habib, an ex-Reform deputy leader who was also forced out by Nigel Farage, makes offer to Great Yarmouth MP

 Deputy political editor and 

Tue 11 Mar 2025 05.21 EDT

First published on Tue 11 Mar 2025 04.24 EDT





The ousted Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe could join forces in a breakaway rightwing party with a former deputy leader of the party who was also forced out by .

The offer came from the former Brexit party MEP Ben Habib, an outspoken critic of Farage, who said he was “constantly in touch” with Lowe.

Habib, who ran for Reform in last year’s , quit the party last year citing concerns over the way it was run. Speaking to the , Habib said he and Lowe were “in politics for the same reason”.

Asked whether he would consider a joint-venture, he told the paper: “Ultimately the reason I joined Reform, and the reason I stood for Reform in Wellingborough, is because the only way you can make a difference is electorally.

“You’ve got to be at the ballot box and hold the electoral system to account … so the answer is yes, I think.”

Habib added: “I see no way back  for Rupert, but Rupert is hugely popular. He has the backing of hundreds of thousands of people across the country. The country is crying out for people who are solid.

“Political expediency got the United Kingdom into the mess it’s in. My activity will be to support Rupert.”

Lowe, the Great Yarmouth MP, was citied as a potential replacement for Farage as leader of Reform by the billionaire Elon Musk, who had voiced support for Reform but later posted that Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” – linked to the leader’s refusal to back the case of the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

The  that sources close to Musk said the billionaire owner of Tesla may be persuaded to fund a splinter party on the right with a hardline stance on mass deportations, which Lowe has promoted.
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