Farage hits back at fellow Reform MP who said he has ‘messianic qualities’

Nigel Farage has hit back at Rupert Lowe after his fellow Reform MP said he was not sure if his “messianic qualities” made him a good leader.

Great Yarmouth MP Mr Lowe said in an interview that it was “too early to know whether Nigel will deliver”.

He called for a “proper plan to change the way we govern from top to bottom” before the next election.

Mr Farage told TalkTV that without his personal following, the party would not have won any of its five seats in Parliament in July.

He also said there would not have been a “cat’s chance in hell” of Mr Lowe winning his seat.

He rejected that Reform UK is a protest party and said it is “making great strides”.

Asked if Mr Lowe would still be a Reform UK MP by the next election, he said: “Well I hope so but he seems to be taking a tone that says he might not accept us.”

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Rift

A rift appears to be emerging after Elon Musk made an abrupt about-turn in his support for Mr Farage, tweeting in January that he “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead the party.

The tech billionaire seemed to suggest in January that Mr Lowe should take over as Reform UK’s leader, adding: “I have not met Rupert Lowe but his statements online that I have read make a lot of sense.”

Mr Lowe was asked by the Daily Mail if he thought Mr Farage would make a good prime minister.

“It’s too early to know whether Nigel will deliver the goods,” he replied. “He can only deliver if he surrounds himself with the right people.

“Nigel is a fiercely independent individual and is extremely good at what we have done so far. He has got messianic qualities. Will those messianic qualities distil into sage leadership? I don’t know.”

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Structured

He said Reform UK needed to change from a “protest party led by the Messiah” to a structured one with a frontbench.

He said Mr Farage needed to “learn to delegate”.

“I’m not going to be by Nigel’s side at the next election unless we have a proper plan to change the way we govern from top to bottom.”

Reform UK secured £280,000 in the last quarter of 2024, compared to the Conservatives’ £2 million and Labour’s £1 million.

Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy claimed last year the party had a number of billionaires lined up to donate to it.

He and Mr Farage met Mr Musk at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in December amid speculation the tech billionaire would donate to the party.