Reform UK spokesman Ann Widdecombe has denied there is a “civil war” brewing within the party, following MP Rupert Lowe’s shock remarks about leader Nigel Farage.
Lowe also compared Farage to a “Messiah”, adding: “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.”
Discussing the remarks on GB News, Widdecombe denied the possibility of a “civil war” between the two Reform representatives and assured that the party is “preparing for Government”.
A Reform UK ‘civil war’ has been denied by spokesperson Ann Widdecombe following Lowe’s remarks about Farage
PA
Widdecombe told GB News host Patrick Christys: “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.
“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.”
Highlighting the scale of Reform’s growth, with Farage’s movement recently surpassing 200,000 members, Widdecombe made clear that the party is “marching forward” ahead of the next election.
She added: “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.
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Reform UK’s Rupert Lowe has said it is ‘too early to know’ whether Nigel Farage will be a good Prime MinisterPA“But now what we’ve got to do is not merely say what is wrong – we’ve got to put forward policies as to what’s right, and we will need a front bench. But for the moment, for heaven’s sake, we’ve only got five MPs.”
When pressed on Lowe’s remarks where he expressed uncertainty that Farage can “deliver the goods”, Widdecombe staunchly disagreed, hitting back: “The fact is that we will deliver the goods. I believe Nigel will deliver the goods.
“I don’t believe that this sort of public comment is helpful. But on the other hand, what we’ve got there is five employees who’ve never been in Parliament before, and we do need to organise things slightly differently.”
Remaining optimistic for relations between Farage and Lowe, Widdecombe assured that any “anger” felt between the two should be “resolved behind closed doors”.
Widdecombe told GB News that Reform UK are ‘preparing for Government’
GB News
Widdecombe stated: “If he is angry, I’m sure that will be resolved between them, behind closed doors. And that is how all these things should be resolved.”
Hitting back at the remarks, Farage told TalkTV that Lowe’s comments were “completely wrong”, and denied Reform UK is a “protest party”.
He said: “We are not a protest party in any way at all. That is utterly wrong, utterly, completely wrong.”
When asked why Lowe made the remarks publicly, Farage joked: “Perhaps he wants to be Prime Minister. Most people in politics do.”