The bitter disagreement between Nigel Farage and Reform MP Rupert Lowe has dramatically escalated with the pair launching fierce new private assaults on one another.
Mr Farage revealed accusations of bullying by Mr Lowe and accused him of falling out with all his fellow Reform UK MPs, with too many “outbursts” utilizing “inappropriate language”.
And he took the extremely uncommon step of quoting a Labour minister, Mike Kane, who stated after a confrontation with Mr Lowe within the Commons that his anger “showed a man not in charge of his own faculties”.
On Friday, occasion chairman and Farage lieutenant Zia Yusuf and chief whip Lee Anderson MP disclosed accusations that two feminine staff had complained of “serious bullying” in Mr Lowe’s places of work, and stated he had been reported to police over allegations he threatened Mr Yusuf with bodily violence.
Mr Lowe, who has been suspended by the parliamentary occasion, denied the claims.
The worsening of the feud between the Reform UK chief and the millionaire MP for Nice Yarmouth got here in articles in The Sunday Telegraph during which they each furiously attacked one another.
Lowe alleges ‘witch hunt’
Mr Lowe stepped up his verbal onslaught on Mr Farage by claiming {that a} “witch hunt” towards him risked destroying Reform’s makes an attempt at eradicating Labour from energy.
And he claimed that at a time when Reform UK’s ballot scores have been rising the assaults on him by the occasion could be a turn-off to voters, declaring: “Infighting failed the Tories – and it’s failing Reform.”
Mr Farage additionally started his Telegraph article by claiming: “If the last general election taught us anything, it is that the public does not like political parties that engage in constant infighting.”
However he claimed that because of Mr Lowe “unloading a barrage of criticisms against our operations and its main actors”, Reform’s unity has been dented.
Picture:
Rupert Lowe MP. Pic: PA
‘Containment methods invariably fail’
Mr Farage stated Mr Lowe had “managed to fall out with all his parliamentary colleagues in one way or another”, including: “We did our best to keep a lid on things but, in the end, containment strategies invariably fail.”
He then referred to a Commons conflict with Mr Kane simply earlier than Christmas, after Mr Lowe staged a debate a few broken ship containing poisonous cargo docked in his Nice Yarmouth constituency.
“Mr Lowe was unhappy with the answer that he received from Mr Kane and, at the end of the debate, he crossed the floor to make his feelings known,” Mr Farage wrote.
“A confrontation ensued. Heated language was heard. The minister’s shoulder was pushed. In the end, the Serjeant at Arms had to step in to calm things down between the two parliamentarians.
“Commenting on Mr Lowe’s conduct later, Mr Kane (stated) ‘the anger displayed in the direction of me clearly confirmed a person not in control of his personal colleges’. No one in Reform UK stated something publicly about what had occurred. As an alternative, we carried on.
“Yet the fact is that, sadly, there have been too many similar outbursts from Mr Lowe, often involving the use of inappropriate language, to the despair of our chief whip, Lee Anderson.
“I’ve been stunned and saddened at this behaviour. Actually, I by no means noticed something prefer it within the European Parliament in 2019 once I was the chief of the Brexit Celebration and Mr Lowe was an MEP colleague.”
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(L-R) Nigel Farage and occasion chairman Zia Yusuf. Pic: PA
On bullying allegations, Mr Farage wrote: “Last week, the chairman of Reform UK, Zia Yusuf, showed me two letters sent by female members of staff to our party headquarters. Each letter contained an accusation of workplace bullying involving Mr Lowe.
“One of many incidents in query is alleged to have taken place inside the parliamentary property. Each ladies’s letters said that these allegations had been reported to the parliamentary authorities.
“As a responsible political party, Reform UK has a duty of care to every single member of staff, whether they are employed by us directly or indirectly.
“With that in thoughts, I imagine that our chairman was totally proper for Reform to nominate a KC to conduct an unbiased inquiry. It’s inconceivable that we may merely ignore such allegations.”
Picture:
Pic: PA
‘I cannot tolerate these falsehoods’
In his Telegraph article, Mr Lowe repeated his declare that there isn’t any credible proof towards him and he was faraway from the occasion earlier than any investigation had began.
“I will not tolerate these falsehoods, and discussions have already taken place with my legal team,” he wrote. “Is it a surprise that these allegations were made public the day after I made reasonable criticisms of Nigel Farage and the Reform leadership?
“It’s a witch hunt, plain for all to see. I’ve been totally frozen out of the Reform machine over the previous couple of months, in a deliberate and calculated means.”
Without naming Mr Farage, deputy leader Richard Tice or Mr Yusuf, he said the Reform UK leadership was unable even to accept the most mild constructive criticism.
Turning on Mr Yusuf, he wrote: “The allegations towards me from the chairman relate to an incident in December, however he solely reported them to the police the day after my affordable questioning was printed.
“Take from that what you will. I don’t feel sorry for myself. I feel sorry for the millions of decent British men and women who put their faith in Reform. They deserve better than this vicious charade.”
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And warning of the harm the feuding was inflicting, Mr Lowe stated: “Everything has been put at risk. Everything. The future of the Right in Britain is now in peril. How can Reform claim to be a party awaiting government when they can’t even follow basic process?
“Reform has been rising within the polls for months. However this spectre of infighting will depart the occasion wanting unserious and switch voters off. Infighting failed the Tories – and it is failing Reform.”
But Mr Lowe concluded with an olive branch. “On a number of events, I’ve invited Nigel Farage for dinner over the previous couple of months,” he revealed. “Each single one has been refused or ignored.
“Again, I offer a public invitation to Nigel. Let’s have dinner and resolve this in the matter that our members, supporters and country would expect. Any time, any place.”
He added: “I want Reform to be professional, to be fair, to be serious. We must offer a credible alternative to the uniparty that has so failed so spectacularly.
“The management’s behaviour this week has undermined that trigger, not solely within the eyes of the voters, but additionally in these of great people throughout enterprise and trade that any occasion of presidency must win over.”
