The civil war on Britain’s hard right erupted last year when Rupert Lowe left Reform UK in disputed circumstances – and escalated in February when he launched his own populist party, Restore Britain. The feud pits two men who are in many ways mirror images: both are wealthy white men in their 60s from southern England, privately educated, with careers in the City before they became – like many in their demographic – disillusioned with the Conservatives’ failure to be anti-EU enough. Now they are locked in a battle that, far from offering voters a clear alternative, exposes the narrowness of the ground they both occupy.
Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe draw from the same pool of activists, strategists and policy ideas. Both parties’ websites feature a graphic of a passenger jet taking off alongside a pledge to deport many migrants. Their promises are identical: a reversal of Britain’s supposed decline through “a population purge, tougher policing, the promotion of Christianity and traditional patriotism, the removal of red tape and environmental targets, and the elevation of self-reliant, entrepreneurial citizens”. As Andy Beckett writes in the Guardian, this is an old rightwing recipe, dating back at least to the populist revolt led by Pierre Poujade in rural France in the 1950s.
“Feud between Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe deepens after Lowe quits Reform UK to launch rival hard-right party Restore Britain.”
Yet the intensity of the split – described in the Daily Mail as “ferocious disputes” – is driven by the very smallness of the differences between the two leaders and their parties. Both are aggressive, digitally enabled communicators who sometimes dress like old-fashioned country squires, signalling a desire to both disrupt and preserve. But Lowe’s new prominence threatens Farage’s comfortable position as the standard-bearer of hard-right populism – a role he has exploited for more than 30 years, benefiting from the ignorance of journalists and mainstream politicians who have been mesmerised by his supposed novelty.
Last month Lowe described Farage in terms that – though the full remarks are not yet public – are certain to deepen the rift. The danger for the right is that the feud will split the populist vote, potentially handing an advantage to the centre-left. As Beckett notes, understanding the personal and ideological divergence between Farage and Lowe is essential if the ground they now occupy is to be taken back. But for now, the two men are locked in a struggle that may benefit neither.